The Endgame
by Lady Eowyn of Ithilien
Summary: First in the Endgame series. The war's over, but who said rebuilding would be easy? Shikamaru's losing a chess match to an unknown opponent and Ino's a fly in the SPIDER's web. Hinata joins ANBU where Sasuke is betrayed by a ninja he trusts. Naruto battles to determine the role of jinchuriki after the peace treaty's been signed; Sakura fights to save him from himself.
1. Chapter 1

**The Endgame**

**The war's over, but who said rebuilding would be easy? Shikamaru's losing a game of shogi to an unknown opponent; Ino becomes a fly in the SPIDER's web. Struggling to redefine herself, Hinata joins ANBU where Sasuke is betrayed by a ninja he trusts. Naruto battles to determine the role of jinchuriki after the peace treaty's been signed; Sakura fights to save him from himself. ShikaIno, NaruSaku, SasuHina, KakaAnko**

* * *

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter One **

"When I found that idea I simply couldn't resist playing it. And look, people talk about me as a player who doesn't care about beauty. That's not true. It's simply that during the game each person sees beauty in different things. I like the beauty of the endgame, but I also get pleasure from finding ideas." - Magnus Carlsen

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

The blonde haired florist deftly swirled the pink colored cream into the shape of a rose inside the wide cylindrical glass bottles arrayed across the counter. She screwed on the caps tightly before setting them in a box alongside the lilac pastes that she had assembled yesterday. The delicate calligraphy on the labels had dried earlier in the week, so she only needed to paint a little glue onto the back and attach them to the glass bottles to complete her work. Yamanaka Flowers: Rose Facial Lotion

Yamanaka Ino placed the pastry bag and dirty mortar and pestle into the large aluminum sink in the back room. She tried not to look at the ten beautiful flower arrangements that she had worked on last night. The demand for funeral arrangements was becoming almost oppressive. It was good for business, but not for her own sanity.

She picked up the box of lotions and walked back into the front of the flower shop. Haruno Sakura leaned on the counter at the front of the store, reading through mission reports. It was a slow afternoon at Yamanaka Flowers. There was a single customer, a young woman looking at white roses sitting in the vases on one side of the store.

The pink haired medic raised her head when Ino stopped in front of her, putting down the box of beauty products on the counter. "Thank you for helping me to watch the store, Sakura," said Ino. "It's been so overwhelming these last few weeks."

Sakura smiled at her friend. "I'm glad to help. I only wish you'd asked me earlier. I didn't realize how much work you've been taking on. Shikamaru's getting worried about you. I don't understand why you won't let him help out too."

Ino ignored her friend and walked out into the shop to see if the young woman admiring the white roses needed any help. Unlike Sakura, who was wearing the navy blue fatigues and forest green flak jacket of Konoha ninja, Ino wore a short sleeve purple shirt and black jeans. The purple shirt was loose and unadorned, but had some detailing at the neckline, with some silver spiraling vines and leaves.

The customer picked a rose out of the vase, mindful of the thorns. It was a striking contrast against her knee length black dress; though, perhaps a flower with more color would be more appropriate. She was so sick of the black garments and white flowers for mourning.

"Good afternoon," said Ino standing next to the woman. "Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. Was there anything in particular that you were looking for?"

When their eyes met, Ino understood in a moment what the other woman was there for. It was the same look that greeted her every morning in the mirror. There was a profound sadness in the other woman's eyes. "I'm looking for an arrangement for a grave. My fiancé passed during the war. He was a shinobi."

Ino took a step forward and placed a hand kindly on the other woman's arm. "I'm so sorry for your loss. He must have been a brave man to die in battle."

Sakura watched as Ino took the other woman around the store, plucking flowers out of vases. "Red and white roses represent the love and faithfulness you hold for your fiancé. Our Hyacinths are very fine this time of year; the white and purples ones will look nice next to the roses. Hyacinths of these colors represent grief and prayer."

Ino held out the bouquet to the other woman who took it gratefully. "This is beautiful, thank you." The other woman seemed to recognize something within Ino's expression and asked, "Did you lose someone in the war too?"

Ino smiled sadly, "Yes. Yes, I did. My father, my godfather, my sensei, my clansmen, my classmates, my friends, my allies, my - … all of us were hurt by this war."

The woman blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize that you were a kunoichi. I'm sorry for your loss."

Ino wrapped up the flowers while Sakura saw to the bill at the counter. The woman bowed to the two kunoichi and left the store, heading to the graveyard on the edge of the city. It had grown so large.

Sakura closed the file folder and rose from her seat behind the counter. "I need to get going, Ino. I promised Kakashi that I would help him assign these new C rank missions before the end of the day. I'll need to get going now to give myself enough time to summon the squads and assign the missions. Are you going to be alright here by yourself?"

Ino glanced down at her hands. "Go ahead. I'll be fine. You shouldn't keep the Hokage waiting. Thank you for helping out this afternoon, Sakura."

* * *

**Interlude**

_His mother had urged him to check on her on the eve of her father's funeral. With all the casualties from the war, there was an endless string of funerals throughout the five shinobi countries. His own father's funeral was the day after tomorrow. He wandered into town, discarding his chunin vest for the black garments that told the world he was in mourning _

_He had been surprised to learn that one of the first things she did after returning to Konoha three weeks after him was reopening her father's flower shop. It seemed to him like a sentimental waste of time. What use were flowers in a time like this? Her skills would be better served in the T&I department that Ibiki was trying to rebuild. Shikamaru knew that the Tokubetsu Jonin was desperate for her to join._

_The sign over the door read closed, but he saw that there was a faint light coming from the shop. She was probably in the back room preparing flower arrangements. When she didn't answer his knock and call, he decided to go check on her himself. Sighing in annoyance, he took out a piece of ninja wire and a kunai and worked on picking the lock. It sprang open with little urging. Locking the door behind him and flipping on the lights, he thrust his hands in his pockets and slouched over to the back room._

_She must have spent a great deal of time reassembling her inventory. The store looked much different than it had, but it still had that same smells: the delicate fragrance of flowers and the earthy smell of dirt. There were even some flowers that he had never seen before. Maybe she brought them back from the Land of Lightening. The flowers had blossomed in the warm spring air. Konoha for the most part was temperate most of the year, but the flowers really flourished in May and June. Now in the first week of May, Yamanaka flowers was in full bloom. _

_There was a light coming from the back room. There were lamps hanging from the three load bearing pillars in the middle of the room. He glanced around in surprise. Every free bit of space in the middle of the room was taken up by large arrangements of flowers. Orchids, roses, magnolias, crocuses, carnations, tulips, camellias, poppies, hyacinths, chrysanthemums, and lilies exploded from vases, wreaths, baskets, and decorative metal tripods._

_The girl he was looking for was in front of a large wreath of white roses. She sat back on her knees in a bed of crushed white rose petals. Her hair was a river of gold in the swaying light of one of the lamps. She had not bothered to put an apron over her black mourning dress. The aprons hung forgotten over the door and her black dress was dusted with dirt and flower petals._

_His heart thudded with worry in his chest. She was sitting very still, staring down at her hands. Running over, he fell to his knees beside her. He grasped her small hands in his and looked her over with worry. "What's wrong?"_

_She continued staring down at her hands. Her voice was small and unnerving. "It pricked me. I didn't expect it to prick me. But it's beautiful… the splash of crimson, like blood. Red roses. I should add red roses to the wreath. They'll like that."_

_"Ino, look at me!" he commanded, putting a hand under her chin. _

_She finally looked at him. The light from the lamps reflected on the tracks of dried tears down her cheeks. Her blue eyes, red rimmed and unfocused, looked eerie in the small patch of light. "Shikamaru?" She raised a delicate hand to his cheek, her eyes drinking him in. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. They've all left me. How am I supposed to do this on my own?"_

_"I'm here. I'll do anything you need me to do. I'll never leave you."_

_Almost in a daze, she straightened and leaned towards him. Just before her lips met his, she whispered, "Please, I don't want to be alone tonight."_

_They made love in the backroom of her father's store on a bed of white roses. With the moon shining bright through the high windows, he carried her upstairs to her bedroom where they surrendered to their passion again. In the circle of his arms, she felt safe. He kept her fears at bay._

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Nara Shikamaru strolled through downtown on his way to the Hokage Building. He had been summoned for another meeting with the Hokage. Konoha had turned into an unfamiliar city these days. The demands for rebuilding after Pein's attack, the missing generation of shinobi lost during the war, and the post war economic boom had turned the village into a strange parallel of what it had been before.

Missions were pouring in faster than Konoha could complete them. There were rebuilding missions from other lands that had suffered during the war. There were escort missions for civilians displaced during the war and others who sought refuge in the new worlds open to them in this time of peace in the shinobi world. There were diplomatic missions from the other major and minor shinobi villages trying to strengthen alliances and consolidate their power. Three of the five shinobi villages had lost their kage's during the war and the new rulers were working hard to strengthen ties. Upstart villages saw this as an opportunity to rise to prominence.

Senju Tsunade had died during the Fourth Great Ninja War and Hatake Kakashi was elected as the Rokudaime Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto, the Hero of the Ninja World and the Second Coming of the Sage of the Sixth Paths, had been heavily contested to assume the mantle. However, he was still young. The jonin of the village thought it prudent to wait several years before having him ascend to the position.

There were power gaps in every department in Konoha. A great many department heads had perished during the war leaving holes for their subordinates to fill. Some could never really be filled, but the will of fire prevailed.

Shikamaru had been surprised when Kakashi asked him to assume his father's position as one of his advisors. Shikaku's position as jonin commander had been filled by Might Gai, a surprising appointment to be sure.

Sabaku no Gaara and Mei Terumi had both survived the war; though, A of Kumogakure and Onoki of Iwagakure had died in the fighting. The heirs apparent, Darui and Kitsuchi respectively, had assumed the mantle of kage. Rebuilding and restructuring was the main focus of the shinobi villages as they sought to consolidate their power.

Nodding to the chunin guarding the front gate, Shikamaru made his way inside. Tucking the large file folder under his arm, he pulled open the heavy front door and crossed the atrium on the way to the stairs. Like so much of Konoha, the Hokage Tower had been completely rebuilt.

The building was immense. The massive round base of the building rose to a dome with six towers arrayed around the outside. The atrium was a wide open gallery now used for meetings and celebrations by the ninja of Konoha. Immense stone columns rose in two aisles along the atrium. The columns split after the elaborate capitals to rise up into the ceiling like branches of trees. Shikamaru had stood proudly in the center of the atrium on a platform as he was promoted to full jonin. Ino and Choji stood in the front row cheering and beaming at him.

Iruka and Sakura should be about done with assigning the C, D, and E rank missions to the genin squads and academy students. Yesterday Shizune had split the A and B rank missions into two piles and handed half to Shikamaru. He had sat at his desk all night poring over the mission specs and the lists of eligible ninja trying to find the optimal arrangements for the missions to guarantee their success.

Shikamaru wasn't sure if he should be impressed or annoyed with the Rokudaime Hokage's ability to delegate work. With Iruka, Sakura, Shizune and himself assigning the A, B, C, D, and E ranked missions and going over the missions reports, it freed up a lot of time for Kakashi to pore over the S-Rank missions and his Icha Icha books. S-Rank missions were more common these days than they might have been in times of peace, but there were still very few of them. Kakashi had even more or less signed over the assignment of ANBU missions to Captain Yamato, the ANBU commander. Yamato had taken on a lot new responsibilities these days. He was also working with Sai to integrate the Root division back into the regular shinobi forces. Naruto, a member of Kakashi's ANBU, moonlighted as an ambassador to the other shinobi villages.

Shikamaru met Shizune at the door to the Mission Assignment Hall. The chunin and jonin they had summoned for missions were already beginning to gather in the hallway. He waved at Kiba and Shino who were arguing towards the front of the line. They followed him into the room where Shizune was sitting and already sorting through her files. Akamaru padded in after Kiba.

Glancing up she said, "I have an escort mission for you. It's classified as B to C rank, though the pay will be A rank."

"Nice!" said Kiba excitedly.

"May I inquire as to why Kiba and I will have the great fortune of such a low risk, high paying mission?" questioned Shino.

Shizune coughed awkwardly. "The Daimyo of the Land of Fangs and his daughter will be visiting the Daimyo in the Land of Frost. The two Daimyo became friends during the war while they were both being kept in the safe house. The Daimyo of the Land of Fangs loves dogs and specifically sent the request to Konoha because he wanted a member of the Inuzuka clan to be one of the guards."

"Did you hear that, Shino? I'm famous, how about that!"

"No accounting for taste, I guess," was Shino's droll reply.

Akamaru let out a bark of laughter. Kiba whirled on his faithful ninja hound. "Hey Akamaru, who's side are you on anyway?" The dog barked out a reply to which Kiba replied frowning, "Your point? They asked Konoha because they wanted _both_ of us, not just you! They want a shinobi and his ninja hound partner."

Shikamaru sighed as Shino and Kiba began berating each other. "Here's the scroll with the mission details. Send in Aoba, Genma and Raido next."

Yamashiro Aoba, Shiranui Genma, and Raido Namiashi walked in after Kiba and Shino. Shikamaru could still hear Kiba's loud voice. The three Tokubetsu Jonin stood at attention in front of Shizune and Shikamaru. Genma took a step forward and accepted the scroll that Shizune held out for him.

"We have an information gathering mission for the three of you in the Land of Hot Water. You are to investigate the legitimacy of the intel we received from an anonymous source that the Yakuza family is planning to overthrow the Land of Hot Water's daimyo.

"A shinobi village is being started in Land of Hot Water where Yugakure once stood and we believe the Yakuza family is involved. Yugakure was a small ninja village almost destroyed after the Akatsuki member Hidan slaughtered nearly everyone in the village. The Land of Hot Water is located north of the Land of Fire and across a small sea from the Land of Lightening. Konoha is very interested in the affairs going on so close to our borders. We want to discover the Yakuza family's involvement and if there is any loyalty to the Akatsuki member Hidan in that village. We cannot stress enough that no one must know of Konoha's involvement in the investigation."

The three men nodded and disappeared from the room in a swirl of leaves**.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

"The future belongs to he who has the bishops." - Siegbert Tarrasch

* * *

**Interlude**

_Suigetsu and Karin were sitting in chairs around him as Sasuke sat on the bed and waited for the medical ninja to finish rewrapping a wound around his arm. It was that blonde nurse that seemed so popular with the male shinobi. He suspected that half of the injured shinobi were hanging around a day or two longer in the hope that she would come around to check their vitals or rewrap their wounds. Pathetic._

_"So do you know what you plan to do now that the war's over, Sasuke?" wondered the girl. "Are you going to return to Konoha?"_

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Frankly, that's none of your business."_

_Rather than look insulted like others might have, she merely chuckled. "That sounds like the Sasuke, I remember."_

_"Well I don't remember you," Sasuke snapped rolling his eyes._

_She blinked at him. "We talked on the battlefield when you arrived with the Hokages. Don't you remember?"_

_"Am I supposed to?" he wondered._

_The girl sighed. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. We were in the same class at the academy and both took the chunin exams at the same time. Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji are my teammates."_

_Sasuke blinked at the names. He did remember her. She was always hanging off him and generally being a nuisance. He recognized her on the battlefield when she was standing next to her teammates, but he didn't recognize her in her medical ninja uniform. "That's strange. You aren't like I remember."_

_Ino finished rolling the bandage and rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't remember someone who was your classmate for seven years. Have a nice life, Sasuke."_

_Sasuke watched her go curiously. He wasn't sure why he hadn't recognized her. Her identity had been so obvious when she was standing next to her teammates. Sasuke had always paid close attention to Nara Shikamaru because the Nara boy reminded him a lot of his brother, another strategic genius. So Yamanaka Ino was often in that periphery. He couldn't place it, but something felt very different from what he remembered of her from the academy but by the same token something about her felt extremely familiar to him. _

_He had probably just gotten hit too hard during the war._

_Suigetsu chuckled from beside him. "Why are you scaring away the pretty nurses, Sasuke?"_

_"She's not that pretty." Sasuke shrugged._

_Suigetsu snorted. "She's very pretty. Are you going blind from overusing your Sharingan? Maybe that's your problem."_

_"I don't like blondes," said Sasuke._

_"Well, that's a little less competition for me," Suigetsu chuckled._

_Karin snorted. "Good luck with that, jackass. She's got every other shinobi in the place panting after her. It's pathetic."_

_"You're just jealous," countered Suigetsu._

_"I'm not jealous," Karin snapped. "I'm just as pretty as she is."_

_Suigetsu laughed out loud at that remark, which caused Karin to growl and hit him over the head. Sasuke rolled his eyes at their antics. "It's weird," Sasuke mused. "I probably should have recognized her. But something feels different about her, something different from the Yamanaka Ino I remembered from the academy."_

_"Yeah, because she's a hot seventeen year old now instead of a knobbly kneed twelve year old, you dunce," replied Suigetsu._

_Karin was silent. As she watched the blonde kunoichi walk over to help another patient, the Uzumaki girl pursed her lips in thought._

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Compared to the other feats he had accomplished, the jonin examination was a breeze. He had been certain that Kakashi, the Hokage, was going to make him and Naruto go through the next chunin exams after the war. It was just the sort of joke Kakashi enjoyed. However Konoha had awarded both of them as well as Sasuke's teammates battlefield chunin promotions on May 1st. Sasuke only remembered the day because he had checked to make sure that it wasn't April 1st. Konoha didn't want to run the risk of another village trying to lay claim to Sasuke. They wanted to secure the last Uchiha's loyalty. Juugo had gone and fallen in love with some kunoichi from Iwa, so he was settling over there. Karin and Suigetsu joined Sasuke in Konoha.

Sasuke was now working as one of Kakashi's ANBU. It was an elite squad that asked few questions of him and didn't have all the fawning women. It was wonderful. His ANBU captain had been a good guy. His other two teammates weren't the greatest, but he could handle them well enough. The dobe was there of course, but on a different team, which suited him just fine. He would be getting a new team member soon. He wondered who it would be.

Suigetsu was lounging at the table in their kitchen taunting Karin about something or other again. "T&I? Do you really think they'd let a foreign ninja work in that department? Konoha ninjas are soft hearted, but I hope their heads aren't that soft."

When Sasuke returned to Konoha, he moved back into his house in the Uchiha district. Karin and Suigetsu had decided to move in with him too. He was unable to persuade them otherwise.

Karin threw one the rice balls she had made last night at Suigetsu's head which burst into water to avoid the impact. "We're not foreign ninjas here. We've been instated as Konoha ninjas, so I can work wherever I please."

"You do have a lot of experience with torture," Suigetsu muttered around his onigiri. "They'd be lucky to have you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Suigetsu shrugged, his eyes glittering. "Just that I'm sure you'll be able to assist the Department in thinking of new and creative ways for torture people."

Karin folded her arms over her chest. She took slight offense to being reminded of the sort of work she was required to do under Orochimaru. "I won't be torturing anyone. I can tell when people are lying by the fluctuations in their chakra. I'm going to be a sort of human lie detector there."

"Hn," muttered Sasuke. "I thought you'd go and work at the hospital or something."

"And have strangers suck on my chakra? No thanks!"

Sasuke made a face. "You would probably just heal people the normal way. No need to use your special ability."

Karin rolled her eyes. "Sure, it would start that way, but if there was a special case, where my special ability could save someone's life, they would make me use it."

"Did you know that they wanted me to take on some kenjutsu apprentices?" said Suigetsu. "Apparently I'm one of the best kenjutsu users in Konoha, little old me. Who would have thought?"

"You are one of the last legendary swordsmen," said Sasuke.

"Are they trying to start the new generation in Kiri?" wondered Karin. "I heard that Chojuro guy was starting it up again."

"Have you been reading my mail?" accused Suigetsu.

"If you leave it open on the table, I'm going to read it," retorted Karin. "Do you think you'll join up with them? Chojuro seemed pretty excited about leading the team with you on it."

"Meh, Chojuro's a pansy."

Karin smiled smugly at him. "Well he did manage to retrieve Samehada, something you were unable to do."

Suigetsu glared at Karin. "That was politics. Kumo gave it back to the swordsmen of Kiri. They couldn't very well hand it over to a random swordsman settled in Konoha. I just plan to steal it back when I get a chance."

Sasuke stood up from the table. "Well I'm going to train with Naruto."

"Later, Sasuke," called Suigetsu and Karin as Sasuke headed outside.

He could still hear them arguing at the table. "I don't see why you won't return to Kiri. It's your village and they're anxious to have you back."

"I don't see you hurrying back to Kusa either."

"Well that's different. I'm not from Kusa, I'm from Uzushiogakure. I was a refugee in Kusa. Besides I have family here."

"You don't have family here," came Suigetsu's voice. "And don't make up some crap about Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Naruto. He's my cousin."

"Nah. He's a distant cousin at best. You'd never heard of him before. And if you go by that logic, you've probably got family in every village. The Uzumaki clan settled all over after their village was destroyed. Konoha, Kusa, Ame, Kiri, Kumo. The Mizukage's a member of the Uzumaki clan too. Maybe you should go to Kiri with me. I bet you'd love that."

"Not on your life, fish breath!"

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru didn't know what the big deal was, why he was kept cooling his heels in the medical tent for so long. Yes, it was standard procedure, but he didn't have anything more serious than chakra exhaustion. Uzumaki Naruto, who probably couldn't even spell chakra exhaustion, let alone know what it was, wandered around the medical tents, shaking hands. He was so excited to meet all of the people who had fought with him in the war. Naruto was a politician at heart. He would make a great Hokage in several years. _

_Speaking of the kages, he wondered what was going on at the high security tent at the edge of the clearing. Sakura, Shizune, C and some of the other senior medical ninjas were over there trying to patch up the kages. _

_There were whispers around the camp that all five kages had been very seriously injured in their battle against Uchiha Madara. Shikamaru didn't know for sure what was going on, but from the defeated look in Shizune's eyes when he caught a glimpse of her the previous day, he knew that Tsunade was dead. When the Hokage had been in a coma after Pein's attack, Shizune had been tense and upset and sad, but she hadn't looked so devoid of hope._

_Ino wandered about the camp restlessly; she didn't seem to sleep. She had done tremendous work during the war, including communicating via Yamanaka telepathy with every shinobi on the battlefield. Of course Ino had kicked up a fuss when the medical team went to diagnose her when she arrived with the others. She quietly and firmly informed them that she had completed her self-diagnosis and it was chakra exhaustion and she would merely require rest. After she recovered from her chakra exhaustion, she asked to be added to the medical ninja rotation. _

_Ino had done her medical training under Shizune several years back and was considerably skilled in her own right. Whenever Shikamaru saw her around the medical tents, he always noticed the stares of the injured shinobi and male medical ninjas tracking her movements. She was beautiful of course, but he was growing to hate the dark circles and the dead look in her eyes._

_One day as he was sitting in the mess tent and enjoying a late breakfast, Sabaku no Temari sat down across from him. The clatter of her tray caused him to look up surprise. Picking up her spoon and digging into her oatmeal with gusto, she sighed happily. "Beautiful day isn't it."_

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Sure. I guess Gaara-sama's doing alright then?"_

_"My baby brother, the Kazekage?" Temari wondered, tapping the back of her spoon against her lips. "Fine as a fiddle. Thanks to Konoha's medical ninjas. That Haruno Sakura really is something. She's saved both my brother's lives now. Not a debt I can easily repay."_

_Shikamaru smiled at her before returning to his own oatmeal. "I'm sure that she wouldn't want you to feel like you need to repay it."_

_"I guess she takes after her teammate Uzumaki Naruto in that respect. Have you seen him running around the camp shaking hands and kissing babies? Extraordinary." _

_"I didn't realize that there were any babies in the camp."_

_"Meh, it's an expression." _

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He glanced at her. "I guess you can't tell me about the status of any of the other kages."_

_Temari looked uncomfortable. "I…"_

_"Tsunade-sama's dead. Isn't she."_

_Temari blinked in surprise. "That's supposed to be confidential. How did you-"_

_Shikamaru shrugged. "I saw how upset Shizune looked and made an educated guess." _

_Temari sighed, "You really are a genius, aren't you, Shikamaru?"_

_Shikamaru laughed self-deprecatingly, "Not when it comes to human nature. I learned that from Ino."_

_Temari sat back in her seat before remarking. "Kankuro's starting to get worried about your pretty blonde friend."_

_"Who, Naruto?"_

_Temari couldn't help herself. She let out a loud giggle of surprise. "No, not Naruto. Ino." _

_"Oh. Well that makes two of us," said Shikamaru without missing a beat._

* * *

**A:N: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three **

"Here is a definition which correctly reflects the course of thought and action of a grandmaster: - The plan in a game of chess is the sum total of successive strategical operations which are each carried out according to separate ideas arising from the demands of the position." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

The balance of power was damaged between the major and minor villages. When Konoha, Suna, Kumo, Iwa and Kiri had banded together with the samurai of Tetsu no Kuni to defeat the terrible might of the Akatsuki, more than half of their forces were killed. The Allied Shinobi Forces were comprised almost entirely of ninja from the major villages. Several shinobi and kunoichi from minor villages had joined the ranks, but they were few and far between.

The minor villages weren't quite as minor anymore. In many cases, their military strength rivaled or exceeded that of the once mighty and major shinobi villages. They were becoming increasingly powerful and itching to tear down Konoha, Kumo, or Iwa from their pedestals. So the major shinobi villages pursued every possible avenue to increase their power and prestige.

One consequence that Kakashi should have predicted was the attempt to strengthen alliances through marriage. Many of these alliances were love matches. Others were attempts by other villages to steal certain bloodlines or skills demonstrated by other villages during the war. It seemed that every other ninja in Kumo was declaring his or her everlasting love for a member of the Hyuga clan or at least for the Hyuga's dojutsu.

There was also the matter of marriages of the kages and their top advisors. These were purely political and made the Hokage supremely uncomfortable. The fact he was a bachelor meant that he would probably have to marry for political reasons. Naturally, the Konoha Council had jumped on this. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were anxiously and excitedly picking husbands and wives for unsuspecting Konoha ninjas. They were also deciding which of these inter-village love matches would be beneficial to the village.

It could have some straight from one of the Icha Icha books, political alliances and arranged marriages. But somehow having it happen to him wasn't as much fun as reading about it in one of Jiraiya's books. Life could be so unfair.

He had freed up a lot of his time by having Shizune, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Yamato assigning missions, but it just meant that his time was being progressively taken up with matters like these. Troublesome, as Shikamaru liked to say.

Kakashi sat back in one of the couches, his arms resting on the back of the couch. He wore the silly red Hokage hat and had taken to wearing a white kage's haori over his flak jacket in acknowledgement of his lofty position. The red floor length robes that the Sadaime Hokage had worn were just a little too old fashioned for his style. Anko would have teased him mercilessly if he wore them.

Koharu glanced around the small meeting room that they were gathered in as Homura sat down across from Kakashi. "No tea?" asked the female council member.

"Not a problem," said Kakashi. Biting his thumb and concentrating his chakra, he summoned a little pug. "Hey Pakkun, can you get some tea started?"

"Tea?" asked the dog in confusion. "You want me to make tea? But I have don't have any thumbs."

"Then go get someone with thumbs to help you."

The two members of the Konoha Council watched the dog scamper off. Koharu shook her head in disapproval. "As if we require any more evidence that you need a wife, Kakashi."

Kakashi's blank face didn't betray any visible emotion at the remark. "Is that what this is about then?"

Homura cleared his throat. "This is a great opportunity for us to solidify our alliances with other villages and incorporate some of their strongest ninjas and bloodline limits into the Konoha shinobi forces." He laid out a chart in front of Kakashi. It was a short list of kunoichi from other villages. Kakashi presumed that the council wanted him to pick one to marry.

**Kurotsuchi, the daughter of Yondaime Tsuchikage Kitsuchi – Age 18 – Lava Release **

**Temari, the sister of Yondaime Kazekage Gaara – Age 21 – No Kekkei Genkai**

**Mei Terumi, Godaime Mizukage – Age 35 – Lava and Boil Release**

**Darui, Godaime Raikage – Age 27 – Storm Release**

His gaze stopped at the last name and looked up at the councilors in confusion. "I'm not sure how my marrying the Raikage will introduce Storm Release into the ranks of Konoha shinobi."

Koharu rolled her eyes at Kakashi's glib remark. "We're planning for him to marry one of our kunoichi of course. The law concerning the citizenship of children whose parents are ninjas from different villages allows for the children to have joint citizenship. In this way, children from the union of a Konoha ninja and one of these foreign ninja can become a Konoha ninja. Imagine, the Raikage's son becoming a Konoha shinobi."

Kakashi was a bit uncomfortable by the stars in the old woman's eyes. Someone he had a feeling that this law would bring about the Fifth Great Shinobi War one way or the other. Villages were intensely protective of their shinobi's kekkei genkai. Already the village was in talks about arranging Mei Terumi's marriage with Shiranui Genma. Kakashi's classmate had gotten close to the Mizukage during the war when they were both assigned to the team protecting the daiyo. Would Kiri declare war on Konoha if they tried to gain citizenship of the Mizukage's children?

"So, which one will it be, Kakashi?" asked Koharu. "Temari or Kurotsuchi?"

"They're both children," the Hokage said in shock. "It wouldn't be right."

Koharu shook her head. "They're both old enough to marry and young enough to provide you with several children."

Noting the other man's reluctance, Homura said, "Unless of course there was a kunoichi from our village that you wished to marry. We would be amenable to that as well."

"As long as she's appropriate," Koharu interrupted. "Not someone like that horrible Mitarashi Anko."

"Er, appropriate. Right," stuttered Kakashi.

"That brings us to the other marriage requests that have come in from the other major shinobi villages. Naturally we are denying all requests concerning Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Yamato. The Uzumaki/Namikaze bloodline is much too valuable to be wasted on another village. The last Uchiha will settle in Konoha with a Konoha kunoichi so there will be no competition from other villages to steal the Sharingan. Additionally, Yamato is the only ninja alive in possession the Mokuton. We will not allow any other village to steal it. It belongs to Konoha."

"What about the marriages concerning Hyuga clan members?" wondered Kakashi. He was surprised that dojutsu hadn't been included as well.

"The Hyuga clan has requested to manage all marriage requests on their own. They are evaluating whether the risks are worth the rewards and will attach cursed seals where appropriate."

"We'll just have to rely on their judgement in those matters."

Koharu nodded in approval. Homaru shifted in his chair. "There are several marriage requests for which we need to decide how to proceed. The secret is out about the skill of the Nara and Yamanaka clans. It was the right move for us to have Shikaku and Inoichi in the forefront of our war efforts; we may not have won the war otherwise. However, other villages learned about the particular skills of those two men and covet the strategic genius of the Nara clan and the telepathy of the Yamanaka clan. The other ninja villages realized that Shikaku and Inoichi passed on their talents to their children, so we've had a number of requests for marriages to Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino."

Kakashi reached forward to accept the first file from Homaru. "Any look promising?"

He flipped the folder open and read through the profiles while listening to Koharu continue where Homaru left off. "We're inclined to accept the proposal from the Yondaime Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi, on behalf of his daughter Kurotsuchi for a marriage to Nara Shikamaru over the proposal from Gaara on behalf of Temari. Our alliance with Suna is already strong and Temari possesses no kekkei genkai. Our alliance with Iwa had always been tenuous at best. This is a good time to strengthen that alliance. In addition, Kurotsuchi possesses the Lava Release Kekkei genkai. Her grandfather, Onoki, had the Dust Release kekkei tota. If one of their children manifests this talent, it would greatly benefit Konoha."

"Hm," Kakashi muttered to himself as he stared down at the two color pictures paper clipped to the file. He recognized Shikamaru's photograph of course. He remembered Shikamaru's wry smile as he posed for his photograph after his jonin promotion. The other picture was of Kurotsuchi. She looked almost boyish with her short dark hair. With her pupilless pink eyes and small smile, she reminded him a little bit of Anko.

Homaru nodded after his companion was done speaking. "This is a great opportunity for Konoha. Naturally, we'll speak with Nara Shikamaru before we accept this proposal. He is a great asset to the village. If we wants to marry someone else, we will allow him to do so."

Koharu held out a second file which Kakashi accepted. The Kumo shinobi looked familiar. Kakashi had meet the man when Naruto went to confront the Raikage about Sasuke's missing nin status on the other man's way to the Kage Summit. Then the man had sneered at them calling Naruto a 'Konoha dog.' Yamanaka Ino's picture was from her chunin promotion. The juxtaposition of the two pictures made him feel a little uncomfortable; the innocent beaming smile of a fourteen year old Yamanaka Ino contrasted with the serious stare of a nineteen year old C from his jonin promotion five years ago.

Kohura began to speak again, "C of Kumogakure has offered a proposal of marriage to Yamanaka Ino. We need to secure this marriage at any cost. Yamanaka Ino has stagnated after the war, doing nothing besides managing her father's flower shop. Considering her current ambitions, we see no better way for her to serve Konoha than by securing a marriage to this Kumo shinobi. C is the closest adviser and confidant of Darui, the Godaime Raikage. This will solidify our alliance with Kumo. C worked closely with Ino as a medical ninja after war and confesses to have fallen in love with the Yamanaka girl. C even sent her a love letter along with Darui's formal request."

Kakashi glanced up at the village councilwoman curiously. She was blushing. He was certain of it. Apparently the crabby old kunoichi was a romantic at heart. Who would have thought? Kakashi smirked. "Was it any good?"

Koharu blinked. "Was what any good?"

Hidden under his mask, Kakashi's smirk was widening. "The love letter, of course."

Koharu blinked again stalling for a reply. Homura looked at her curiously. Glancing down at the table, Koharu finally remarked, "There was some merit to the poetry." She coughed and demanded, "Where's the tea?"

There was a knock on the outside door. As always, Sakura's timing was impeccable. Kakashi wondered for a moment if Sakura had been standing outside waiting for a break in the conversation. She walked in with Pakkun padding in behind her. Placing the tray on the table in front of Kakashi and the Konoha Council, she winked cheekily at Kakashi before pouring the tea for the three of them and handing the cups to Kakashi and the other advisers. She smiled kindly at Homura and Koharu before sweeping out of the room.

Koharu waited until the door was closed behind the girl before noting, "We've had several marriage proposals for Haruna Sakura, but we wanted to wait and see if she married Naruto or Sasuke before promising her to someone else."

"Yes," said Kakashi, "of course."

"Finally there is the issue of Uchiha Sasuke's companions. They have been granted asylum in Konoha, but Kiri is trying to claim citizenship over the Hozuki boy and the Uzumaki girl."

"Hozuki Suigetsu is a Kirigakure shinobi," countered Kakashi. "If he wants to return to his homeland, we are in no position to stop him."

"Hozuki Suigetsu is a direct descendant of the Nidaime Mizukage. We should use every possible trick at our disposal to keep him here. Uzumaki Karin is a member of the Uzumaki clan and a very skilled sensor. Kiri has no legitimate claim to her. She's a shinobi originally from the grass village."

"So we plan to force her to become a Konoha shinobi."

"Yes," replied Koharu.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Kakashi was sitting at one of the long wooden tables in the mess tent, enjoying the grilled salmon and talking with Sasuke and his companion Hozuki Suigetsu about their own journeys during the war. Sasuke's decision to throw his lot in with Konoha was the turning point in the war. It was genius bringing the four past Hokage's as backup. The last Uchiha was given a full pardon from all the kages and reinstated as a shinobi of Konoha._

_A shadow fell over Kakashi's plate before an energetic blonde sat down next to him. "There you guys are."_

_"Dobe," said Sasuke as a way of greeting._

_"Teme," said Naruto in return. Kakashi merely rolled his eyes at them. Naruto turned to Kakashi and wondered, "I was looking for Captain Yamato, but couldn't find him anywhere. Have you seen him around?"_

_Kakashi blinked in surprise. Yamato? Wait a second. Jumping up from his seat, grilled salmon forgotten, Kakashi called out, "We forgot about Yamato! He's probably still with Kabuto!"_

_Sasuke looked up from his salmon. "Who's Yamato? The only other person that I saw at Kabuto's lair when Itachi and I fought him was that scary chunin exam proctor from the Forest of Death."_

_Kakashi gaped at him. "Anko? How could we forget about Anko?"_

_"Right, I think that was her name, Anko," said Sasuke returning to his salmon._

_"She's probably still sitting on the floor of that cave. I don't remember any other man there besides Kabuto," said Suigetsu. _

_Kakashi contemplated the parameters of a rescue mission. "It's been some time, so the trail's probably gone cold. I doubt that Pakkun would be able to follow the scent. We'll need a skilled sensory ninja."_

_"Oh, I've got one of those," said Sasuke._

_Naruto looked at him curiously. "You have your own personal sensory ninja?"_

_"Yeah," Sasuke shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?"_

_"Yamato has chakra very much like Senju Hashirama's. Do you think your sensory ninja would be able to track that?" wondered Kakashi._

_"Senju Hashirama? This Yamato must be that Wood Style use. That should be easy for Karin then."_

_Naruto rolled his eyes. "I could also just go into Sage Mode or Kyuubi mode and track him down. A separate sensory ninja's probably not necessary."_

_"She's a medical ninja as well," said Sasuke. "We'll probably want one of those too in case either Anko or Yamato are injured."_

_"We?"_

_"I want to go too. It's so boring here," said Sasuke._

_"Me too," said Suigetsu from beside him. "The Kirigakure kunoichi are starting to get really grabby. It's making me nervous."_

_"If we need a medical ninja, we should bring Sakura," said Naruto. "She'll probably want to come with us regardless to make sure that Yamato's alright. He's our teammate. Sai too."_

_Sasuke snorted. "Some teammates you all are. Forgetting about the guy and leaving him for dead for Kami knows how long."_

_Kakashi leveled a stare at the Uchiha prodigy. "I wouldn't be one to talk, Sasuke."_

_Naruto scratched his head. "So the four of us, Sakura, Sai and Sasuke's sensory type ninja."_

_"Karin," Suigetsu offered._

_"I'll go find Sakura and Sai then," said Naruto, "If one of you want to find Karin."_

_"I'll go get her," said Suigetsu._

_Kakashi sat back down and returned to his salmon which was now getting cold. He glanced at Sasuke. "Are you going to use this as an opportunity to run away again? We've granted you amnesty and reinstated you as a Konoha shinobi. It would be foolish to turn your back on that and become a missing ninja again."_

_The dark haired man sighed and looked at his empty plate. "I don't intend to run away again. I'm planning to start over again in Konoha. It's what Itachi wanted."_

_"We've granted you and Naruto a battlefield chunin promotion. You can apply for jonin when we return to Konoha when you feel ready for it."_

_"I was an S-Rank missing nin," sneered Sasuke. "I'm pretty sure I'd be ready for it."_

_The others returned before too long, packed and ready to go. Sakura handed Kakashi his supplies. Sasuke already had his with him. Hence Kakashi's worry about Sasuke running away again. Sasuke was always packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. It didn't inspire much faith._

_Kakashi smiled as Sasuke's new team became acquainted with his old team plus Sai. He wondered if Suigetsu and Karin would chose to settle in Konoha as well._

_Sai looked at the pale haired swordsman curiously as his arm bulged with muscle to help lift the massive blade in one arm. "So with your ability, you can change the size of your limbs and turn yourself to water."_

_Suigetsu nodded. "That about sums it up."_

_Sai became intrigued. "So you can make any of your limbs bigger."_

_"Yep."_

_"So you can also make your penis bigger?"_

_Kakashi gaped at the former Root member. Naruto and Sakura flushed in mortification. This was their teammate asking about other men's penises again. Karin looked intrigued and Sasuke looked completely indifferent._

_"Yep," said Suigetsu, leering at Karin who rolled her eyes back at him._

_"It would still be small," she sneered back._

* * *

**Yamato**

Captain Yamato stepped out of his apartment that morning with a smile on his face. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, he had finished assigning all his ANBU missions yesterday, Kakashi hadn't scheduled any meetings with him until tomorrow, they finally had a solid lead on a mole placed in one of the shinoibi departments from the leader of Root, and he had a lunch date with that pretty tokubetsu jonin who taught at the academy. Things were finally going his way …

Shit. What was Sai doing sitting on the bottom stair leading up to his apartment? That had to be a coincidence. Yes, it was a coincidence. Nothing could ruin his good day.

"Good morning, Yamato-taicho," said Sai pleasantly as Yamato paused for a moment in front of him. He put down his book and looked up at his superior.

"Ah yes. Lovely morning it is. Now if you don't mind, Sai, I must be going. Places to go, people to see. You understand."

"Ah," said Sai agreeably. "You must be going to the Hokage Building then."

Yamato felt an icy chill of apprehension sliver down his spine. "Why do you say that?"

Sai smiled. "Because Hokage-sama sent me here to save you the trouble of heading over yourself."

"Did he now?"

"Yes," said Sai eagerly. "He also gave me this file folder for you to look over before the meeting."

"The meeting?"

"Yes, the meeting to go over the new recruits for ANBU."

"Ah yes, that meeting," said Yamato feeling completely out of his depth. This was his first time hearing about this. "Remind me again when this meeting is."

"During lunch. It was the only time that Hokage-sama could fit into his schedule."

"Absolutely not! I refuse!" yelled Yamato without thinking.

Kakashi didn't have anything else on his schedule besides reading Icha Icha and wondering who to assign to the one S-Rank mission that had come in last week. This was unpardonable and so like Kakashi. He had been spying, of that Yamato was certain. Kakashi had lain in wait until Yamato had asked Kimiko, the pretty tokubetsu jonin at the academy, out on a date. Then as soon as they had confirmed their reservations… Bam! Kakashi scheduled some bogus meeting over it. Oh, it was so like Kakashi.

Sai tilted his head to the side. "I don't understand. Are you making a joke?"

Yamato blinked uncomfortably. Sai was a sweet boy. He hated antagonizing him like this. He wasn't really much better than Kakashi really, if he treated his subordinate this way. He should just go along with it. "Er, yes. A joke. Did you like it?"

Sai scratched his head. "I didn't understand it, but I'm sure after I think about it, I will."

"Er, it wasn't a really good joke, if you don't figure it out, don't feel bad. So have you prepped for the meeting as well?"

"Yes, I looked over the profiles before coming over here. Hokage-sama even gave me a book to read while I waited for you to leave your apartment."

"Did he now? That was nice of him, uncharacteristically nice."

"I asked the Hokage's advice about courting women. This is a very pretty girl that I would like to woo who works at the hospital with Sakura." Yamato blinked in surprise. This was news. Sai continued, "The Hokage was kind enough to give me this book to help me in my endeavors. He said the writer was a genius."

Yamato felt second icy chill of foreboding. He wouldn't would he? "A genius, eh? Not Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin."

Sai smiled. "The very same."

"Er," said Yamato. "Why don't I take that from you? Some of the Great Jiraiya's advice is for more…mature audiences."

"Ah. Are you seeking the great Jiraiya's advice as well? I've noticed you flirting with that tokubetsu jonin at the academy. Are you seeking to court her as well?"

Yamato blushed. "Why, yes, I am."

Sai smiled at Yamato. "This is indeed good news. If you are courting a woman at the same time as I, if I have any questions about Jiraya-sama's advice, I can ask you."

The ANBU commander could feel his face turning redder by the second. "Er, I guess."

Sai flipped open his notebook. "There were a few terms that I read in that book that I didn't understand." Skimming down the lined page, Sai finally found the word he was looking for. "What exactly is a clitoris?"

Yamato gaped at the former Root ninja. The ANBU commander was sure that his face was burning a brighter red by the second. "Er. It….it's….um….er…."

Sai flipped the book closed. "That's alright. If you don't know what a clitoris is, Yamato-taicho, I can always ask Sakura."

"Er," said Yamato as he tried to imagine that conversation. "It might be best if you don't ask Sakura that question. I'm afraid that it might make her uncomfortable."

"Then, how will I…"

Yamato coughed loudly and interrupted the former Root ninja, "So these ANBU applicants. Why don't we stop in that café near my apartment and discuss them? I haven't look through the files as thoroughly as you have. I would appreciate your input."

Yamato ordered a cup of black coffee as he looked down morosely at the profiles in front of him. Nine ninjas were seeking admission to ANBU. That was a bit more than the average. One needed to be at least a tokubetsu jonin to apply, so that weeded out a lot of applicants before they reached Yamato's desk. The requirements had been less stringent for Danzo's root faction, but that was merely because the former councilmember had been creating an army of drones to overthrow the Hokage.

Speaking of which, Yamato glanced curiously at Sai. The young man had come a long way. He and others like him who had suffered so much under Danzo's control were finally living and learning to express the emotions that they had been forbidden to show for so many years. Sai had been instrumental in providing information about some of the individuals who had stepped in to take over for Danzo after his death.

Many of the members of Root had turned themselves over to the Hokage, but there were still a few ninjas within Konoha who were operating as Root. They had not lost the extremist ideology that Danzo had. If anything it had gotten stronger. There were very few of them now, but they were well entrenched and almost impossible to find. Unlike in the regular Konoha ANBU forces, the identities of their leaders were hidden from the other members of Root. All they knew about these figures hiding in the shadows were three codenames: POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON.

Sai had done everything he could to try to discover the identity of these men. However, he had been unsuccessful as well. The former member of Root was turning into a nice young man with a strange sense of humor. His socially awkward questions were often amusing. Yamato wondered sometimes if he was just taking advantage of the fact people thought he was a clueless drone working hard to reclaim his previous personality to play around with them by asking uncomfortable questions. Clitoris indeed.

As if sensing Yamato's train of thought, Sai glanced up at the other man. "Something on your mind, Yamato-taicho?"

"Er, no," said Yamato. "I was just thinking about the candidates. If any of them are viable."

"Aburame Shino seems like an excellent candidate," began Sai. "He had considerable mastery over his clan's technique. His ninjutsu is formidable and he will be an asset in sensing and tracking."

"My thoughts exactly. We could say the same for Inuzuka Kiba. I'd like to recommend him as well. What are your thoughts on Hyuga Hinata?"

"Hinata? No."

Yamato blinked in surprise. "I was considering recommending Hinata. What do you think?"

"I don't think she is ready for the responsibility. She can be very unsure of herself and relies too heavily on her teammates for physical and emotional support. In a faceless group like ANBU, she would be more of a liability than an asset to the team."

Yamato considered Sai's analysis. "You raise a good point. However, ANBU is not completely faceless. We try to maintain our anonymity amongst non ANBU members; however, within our teams, we come to rely on each other and know each other by name and face."

Sai nodded respectfully. "If you seek to recommend Hyuga Hinata, I will offer my support as well."

"Three down, six to go."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews! I'd especially like to thank imsabbel who got me thinking about a couple things in my story. Imsabbel raised the point that it seemed out of character for Naruto to redistribute the bijuu among the villages after the war and the interesting political environment that would arise between the major and minor villages after the war because of the tremendous casualties suffered by the Allied Shinobi Forces during the war. I revised paragraphs in chapters one and three to reflect these things better. Thanks, Imsabbel!**

**The story is unbetad, so be patient with me if you see any glaring spelling or grammar mistakes. I'd be eternally grateful if you could point them out to me. I've already fixed a couple in the first three chapters. :-)**

**And shout outs to ShikaIno1, anni fer, nufze, ShikaInoInuKikIchiHine36, ShikaInofans, lina granger, and phateebabee who also reviewed. You are the best!**

* * *

**Chapter Four **

"The key to ultimate success is the determination to progress day by day." - Edmar Mednis

* * *

**Interlude**

_Hyuga Hinata sat down on the small cot in the medical tent. The cuts and bruises had healed as well as the chakra burns from when Naruto held her hand in his so tightly. The feel of his chakra flowing into her chakra network was like nothing she had ever experienced. It was so intimate. He had to be in love with her too! He hadn't spoken with her yet about her revelation during the battle with Pein. He was probably just too busy._

_Yamanaka Ino sat next to her on the bed, holding her wrist between two fingers as she counted her pulse. Looking up at Hinata, Ino said, "Everything is in order, Hinata. You can be discharged today. The chakra burns seem to be healing nicely. A lot of people got chakra burns when Naruto gave them a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra. We haven't seen any, but If you start to have any strange side effects, you must check back in with a medical ninja. Promise me that."_

_"I promise," said Hinata._

_Ino sat back and considered the other girl. "Is everything else alright then? I've been certified by both the Konoha Hospital and the Konoha T&I department as a psychologist. If you find yourself wanting to talk with someone about your experiences during the war, I'd be glad to. Anything we talk about will be completely confidential, between doctor and patient."_

_Hinata smiled at her. "Thanks, Ino. That's really nice, but I should be alright for now."_

_The dark haired girl glanced around the medical tent, watching the other patients and medical ninjas working hard to authorize the release of patients who were not seriously wounded to free up bed space and medical attendants for those who were. _

_Naruto was in the far corner of the tent. She had been utterly aware of his presence from the moment he stepped into the tent. He had even wandered over to her several minutes ago to catch up with Ino. The two blondes laughed and teased each other for a couple minutes while Hinata looked on happily. Naruto had smiled at Hinata and patted her on the back before bounding over to where Sakura was wrapping Choji's arm. The Akimichi shinobi and her teammate Kiba were playing poker with a couple of ninjas from Iwa and Kiri. Kiba had his arms around a dark haired kunoichi from Iwa who resembled Mitarashi Anko. They were grinning at each other. They must have been winning._

_"But Sakura-chan! Take some time off from your shift and play poker with us!"_

_"Naruto-baka! My shift isn't over! You know that I can't."_

_Feeling her hair standing on end like she was being watched, Hinata turned her head slightly where she noticed one of the medical ninjas coming out of surgery. He was handsome with stern black eyes and spiky blonde hair. His eyes did a circuit of the room before stopping on Ino and smiling slightly. He shifted the box of medication in his arms and wandered out towards the kage's tent._

_Ino looked at Hinata curiously. "Are you sure everything's alright? I understand how you're feeling. I went into shock after my father died too. And I didn't even have to witness it; it must have been very different for you." _

_Hinata looked down at her hands. "It was – it was –"_

_Ino put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "I'm here if you want to talk about Neji. I understand how difficult it must be for you to lose someone like that. And he sacrificed his life for you. Kiba said that Neji died in your arms. I know Kiba was really upset about it."_

_"He didn't die in my arms; he died in Naruto's," she whispered._

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

Hinata walked with her sister to one of the training grounds outside the city. Hanabi had turned thirteen that year and been promoted to chunin. She was working hard to improve her skills. Hinata had put in an application for ANBU and was waiting to see if she had been selected. From what she knew the application and examination process was brutal, so she wanted to prepare herself as much as possible.

Neji would have been proud of her for putting in an application. After he had been promoted to jonin, ANBU had been his next aspiration. He had been training for the position before the war broke out and he lost his life. Her cousin was always so protective of others: of her, of his teammates, of Naruto, of their clan. As an ANBU, he would protect the Hokage; a position that he believed their friend Naruto would soon ascend to.

Naruto was also in ANBU. Being in ANBU would also mean that Hinata would get to work with him. She would also get to help protect Kakashi-sensei and then Naruto after he was elected Hokage. She would also be able to honor Neji's memory by working as an ANBU. When Naruto saw how strong she had become, he would have to confess his love for her.

When the sisters reached their usual practice field, they were surprised to find TenTen and Rock Lee already training. Punches and weapons were flying like mad. TenTen paused in mid throw but didn't move out of the way in time to avoid Lee's punch. She was thrown back into a tree where she lay still for a moment before rising unsteadily to her feet.

Lee ran over, yelling, "TenTen. I am aggrieved to have hurt you so! I thought that you would dodge my attack. It was most unkind of me not to pull my punch when I realized. I will run five hundred laps around Konoha on my hands for a most unyouthful attack."

TenTen shook her hands at him. "That's really alright, Lee. You don't need to run any laps."

Turning to the newcomers, Lee jumped up in excitement to capture Hinata in a bear hug. "Look, TenTen. It is the cousins of our beloved teammate, Neji. See how much Hanabi is beginning to look like Neji did back then. She is just beginning her Springtime of Youth!"

Hanabi smiled tensely at Lee. She hadn't grown accustomed to Lee like Hinata had.

Observing Hanabi's uncomfortable smile, Lee wept tears of joy. "Look, TenTen. It is the same smile that Neji used to smile at me." Lee grabbed Hanabi's arm and pulled her off towards one of the training posts. Hanabi tried to hide her look of alarm. "You remind me so much of Neji," Lee rejoiced. "Let us train together!"

TenTen watched them go with a small smile. She had lost one teammate, but Lee was loyal almost to a fault.

Hinata stood uncomfortably in the center of the clearing while TenTen wandered around to pick up her weapons. The last ones were attached to chakra strings on the other end of the clearing. TenTen twisted her fingers and the kunai came soaring towards her, brushing dangerously close to Hinata's head on the way over.

TenTen knelt down and sealed the kunai back into a scroll. Tying it back on the cord hanging across her back, she dusted off her palms. She leaned back against one of the trees, the scroll propping her up, and stared down Hinata.

Not knowing what to say, Hinata just stared back. Frowning, TenTen finally spoke. "I heard that you're applying for ANBU. Are you sure you're ready? Just because you're a tokubetsu jonin doesn't mean your well suited for a position in the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad."

"I will not give up, that is my ninja way."

"Why are you applying for ANBU? Is it for Naruto? That's a silly reason to join something – to try to get some boy's attention."

Hinata shook her head. "That's not the only reason. I also – "

"But it's one of the main reasons, isn't it?"

"I love Naruto," said Hinata in reply. "Is that wrong?"

"You're so selfish," TenTen snapped. "Neji loved you and gave up his life for you and how do you repay him? By completely disregarding his sacrifice!"

"Neji dreamed about becoming an ANBU. I want to honor his sacrifice."

"His sacrifice? _He_ died to save your life. _You_ didn't even care enough to bring his body home from off the battlefield. Lee and I did that. You were too busy wandering after Naruto, hoping that he would spare you a glance."

"It wasn't like that," Hinata said. "I –"

"Enough of your excuses."

* * *

**Interlude**

_He wasn't sure why everyone was so excited about this. Anko had been laughing about the wager all week. Apparently his students and other ninja of the village were laying bets about what he looked like under his mask. There was quite a bit of money riding on it. Who would have thought?_

_As Kakashi wandered through downtown with Anko on their way to the memorial stone, he could hear his student's raucous laughter coming from the Dango shop near the Hokage Building._

_Naruto's voice was always the loudest. "Blimp lips. It's blimp lips. I'd put a thousand ryos on it."_

_He could just make out Sasuke's sneering reply, "It's obviously not blimp lips, dobe. We would be able to tell even with the mask on. Put me down for a thousand ryos for buck teeth, Sai."_

_Sakura giggled uncontrollably from inside the shop. Anko elbowed him in the side with a knowing smirk. 'Blimp lips?' she mouthed to him. _

_Kakashi almost stopped in his tracks when he heard Sai's cool logical voice join in the conversation. Who all was in on this? "I think it's bad cold sores from a venereal disease."_

_Anko raised an eyebrow._

_The voices of Sasuke's companions from the Sound Village had joined in the fun too. Karin remarked, "He's probably just embarrassed about a cut on his face from a mission or something. He covers the one through his eye too."_

_Suigetsu retorted, "No, he covers his eye because otherwise his Sharingan would be permanently activated and drain his chakra. A thousand ryos on weird nose hair."_

_"Eh, Sakura, you haven't put in your bet yet. What should I put you down for?" asked Naruto._

_"A weird mask tan."_

_"Oh come on, Sakura-chan! That's so obvious. You can do better than that!"_

_Sakura giggled and said, "I'm not putting my money on blimp lips, Naruto, if that's what you're asking."_

_As he and Anko wandered downtown to the memorial stone, she mused, "You better not have any cold sores from herpes. If so, I'll end you."_

_"Er, no herpes," said Kakashi. "Are you in the betting pool then, Anko?"_

_"Yep. I know for a fact that you have an adorable dimple on your left cheek when you smile. That's what I'm down for. I also have a number of bogus bids out to weed out the competition. With the winnings I'll get from the bid I'll probably be able to buy a house."_

_"Wow," said Kakashi. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he wondered, "So, what's my prize for giving you the inside information?"_

_"Why don't you stop by my house later tonight and find out?"_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of ShikaIno in this chapter, but I promise there will be some in chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5

******The Endgame  
**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Five **

"Drawing general conclusions about your main weaknesses can provide a great stimulus to further growth." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

"This will be a good experience for the academy students. Normally we would assign these six D-Rank missions to six separate genin cells, but we can optimize our resources by assigning them out to groups of academy students. I've spoken with Kimiko and Choji and they've volunteered to take out two groups of three academy students."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "Do we need to get substitutes for the teachers then?"

He must have been mistaken, but was that a flash of guilt in Sakura's eyes? "Yes. I've spoken with Ino and she's volunteered to watch Choji's class while he's out of the village. We're planning to have the remainder of Kimiko's class join with Choji's during that time."

The Hokage blinked in surprise. "You're giving Ino two academy classes? I don't envy her. Kimiko's class is really rowdy."

"I'm hoping this will make the T&I division look better to her."

Kakashi snorted, "Or she'll be afraid to ever leave the flower shop again."

"That too," said Sakura. "I'm getting worried about her. She's not sleeping well and she's putting on weight."

Kakashi sighed, "I've seen this happen before. I had a friend who behaved the same way after the Third Shinobi World War. I can order a psych evaluation and talk with her about her options."

Sakura ran a hand through her hair. "This is Ino we're talking about. She used to administer the psych evaluations. The psychologists won't get anything out of her that she doesn't want to tell. She's one of the most skilled members of the Yamanaka clan."

"I suppose you're right," said Kakashi. "Those Yamanaka are stubborn."

Sakura glanced out the window. "It's almost lunchtime. I'm meeting Naruto for lunch. Are we all done then?"

Kakashi frowned. "Yeah. Give Naruto my regards."

"Do you have any plans for lunch?"

"I scheduled a meeting during lunch actually."

Blinking in surprise, Sakura wondered, "Why during lunch? You don't have any other meetings today. Why didn't you make it … at any other time?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I like giving Yamato a hard time."

She waved before slipping out the door and out of the building for lunch. He didn't have to wait long at all until there was a knock on the door and Sai and Yamato walked in. From Yamato's harsh stare, the Hokage had a feeling that he had been caught. Yamato had figured out his little practical joke.

Unlike Sakura, who sat in the chair next to him behind his desk, Yamato and Sai sat across the desk from him in the two wooden chairs. Yamato stared him down meaningfully. He must have still been upset about that date that Kakashi had interfered with.

"Have you had a chance to review the applications then?" wondered Kakashi.

"Yeah," said Yamato. He nodded to Sai who flipped the three profiles open and slid them across the table to Kakashi. "We'd like to recommend Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuga Hinata for ANBU."

Kakashi nodded his head as he slid the papers towards him. "We'll give the new applicants the usual one month probationary period before they're fully inducted. Have you identified the teams that you would like to place them on?"

"Yes," said Sai. "Shino'll go on Team Four. Hyuga Tokumo was only recently promoted to captain, but I think he and Shino will work well together to make Team Four a strong tracking team. Kiba will do well on Naruto's team. They don't have a strong tracker on that team. I'm going to put Hinata on Sasuke's team."

"I agree with Sai's proposal," said Yamato. "We discussed team placements already but wanted to run them by you first."

"I agree with your recommendations for ANBU and your preliminary team placements," the Hokage nodded.

Sai nodded and stood up from his seat. He looked at Yamato, who was glaring at Kakashi. "Why don't you go ahead, Sai? I want to catch up with Hokage-sama."

Sai nodded before tucking the folders and Kakashi's book under his arm and heading out.

Yamato crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Kakashi. "You really shouldn't be giving him those books, Kakashi. You're going to give him all the wrong ideas about love and courtship."

"What do you mean?" wondered the Hokage innocently

"He asked me this morning…"

Kakashi noticed Yamato's blush and pause. "Asked you what?"

"Oh, never mind."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry that you had to miss your date with that pretty tokubetsu jonin from the academy. But this was really the only time that I had available."

"Oh really," said Yamato, raising his voice in his annoyance. "I guess you have lots of important meetings this afternoon with your Icha Icha Tactics book."

"No Icha Icha today," said Kakashi leaning back and folding his arms behind his head. "Lots of meetings with lots of people. I'm an important figure for the village, you know."

"Well I'll just ask Kimiko to dinner instead."

"Dinner?" wondered Kakashi. "That might be tricky. She's got a debriefing this evening with Iruka to prepare the academy students for the mission they'll be taking outside of the village tomorrow morning."

Yamato narrowed his eyes. "Outside the village? How long do you expect them to be outside the village on this mission? Why on earth are you sending academy students on missions outside the village? That's supremely irresponsible, even for you."

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow. "It's just training really. They'll be collecting plants, nothing dangerous. It'll be a good learning experience for all involved. Four days outside of the village camping under the stars."

"You're despicable. I would have never thought that you could be so devious and underhanded."

Kakashi held up his hands to placate his friend. "Don't blame me. It was Sakura's idea."

"And I guess it was her idea too for our ANBU meeting to be during lunch."

"No, that was my idea."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Kakashi found her sitting alone by the little brook where the shinobi mess division would gather water and then wash the dishes downstream. She was sitting on a rock and staring out into the forest. The forests were strange here in Lightening Country. The soil was rockier and the trees were different. There were few of the wide green leaves of Fire Country; it was all needles and sap. _

_Taking a couple steps forward, he stopped beside her. "Alright there, Mitarashi?"_

_"More or less," said Anko, holding up her bandaged arm. "I got kidnapped by that creepy kid who was obsessed with my equally creepy ex-sensei to power up his zombie no jutsu. Then I wake up and you're carrying me back to the medical tent and my cursed seal is gone."_

_"Yeah," said Kakashi, sitting next to her. "It's been a weird couple of days for me too. I discovered that my dead teammate wasn't actually dead and had instead become a villainous mastermind. My sensei and the other Hokage came back from the dead to defeat him and then I was named Hokage."_

_Anko quirked a smile. "Somehow I can't imagine you as the Hokage. You'll probably peddle all your work off on your colleagues. What are you going to do when they decide to carve your face into the Hokage Monument?"_

_"Leave the country?"_

_Anko snorted. "We can become rogue ninjas together. We'll be so badass."_

_Kakashi grinned. "Just promise me that you won't lose the mesh bodysuit."_

_"You like it?" Anko leaned towards him, nibbling on his ear. She whispered huskily, "It looks better off."_

_Kakashi giggled. _

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

She was bone tired. How did Choji deal with those little monsters every day? She was not cut from the cloth that made academy teachers. Was Sakura trying to scare her into joining Ibiki's division? Was anything actually scarier than excitable young children?

It probably didn't help that she had been sick most of the morning. She thought about calling in for a sub, but didn't want to disappoint Choji. He was so excited about taking his kids on a "mini-mission" as he called it. The sickness passed soon enough and she was able to get to the academy just in time. She hurried over and ran into the classroom just as the bell rang for the first class.

She was so tired after she got back to Yamanaka Flowers in the late afternoon that she went to take a nap. She flipped the sign on the front of the shop over so it said CLOSED and flopped down on her futon upstairs.

Her chakra stores were in relatively good shape – all things considered – so she decided to try expelling the memories of the last shinobi from the war in her mental prison.

There he was again, that terrifying shinobi with the mass of golden hair and dark horns. He and his force of twenty men were hot on the trail of those Konoha dogs. The Hokage was among them. If he could bring down Senju Tobirama, the war would be as good as won...when he finally faced down the Hokage, he let the Kyuubi's chakra bubble to the surface. The acrid smell of his own searing flesh burned his nose. He welcomed the pain. Senju Tobirama would soon feel the same justice served…

She focused her chakra on him, pushing these thoughts and memories away. They began to fade as if they were a chalk drawing on the sidewalk during a burst of rain. The memories bled, running down the sidewalk in a medley of different colors. She blinked her eyes open into the prison in her mind and looked with satisfaction at the empty cell in front of her. He was gone. She let out a sigh of relief.

As she walked down the hall of the prison to the locked gate, she felt a peculiar feeling. It was as if she was being watched. A chill ran down her spine. It couldn't be. That prisoner couldn't have escaped. She turned slowly to the door on the opposite end of the hall. It was wrapped tightly in several heavy chains and there were no windows to the room. No one could get in or out except through that locked door.

As if compelled by some foreign mind, she walked towards the door. Pausing in front with her hand on the door, she listened intently. It was so quiet. Surely the prisoner was still locked inside. As she leaned her head towards the door, the entire thing shuttered. The chains on the door creaked as someone or something tried to force its way out.

Ino jolted out of bed, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. She was safe, the prisoner was still contained. Kami, that was close.

Shikamaru raced into the room, kunai drawn. Glancing around the room for an enemy, he didn't sheath his weapon until he was sure they were safe. He crouched in front of her, pulling the sweaty hair out of her face.

"What's the matter? Was someone up here with you? What happened?"

"Shikamaru? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check and see how your first day as an academy teacher went."

Ino groaned theatrically, "Oh, it was horrible, Shika! It was like having thirty little Narutos running around."

"That does sound scary," commiserated Shikamaru with a small smile.

"Where do they get all their energy?" she wondered.

"We may never know," agreed Shikamaru. After a beat of comfortable silence, Shikamaru asked, "What was that all about? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was just a bad dream."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Just a bad dream? It sounded from downstairs like you were being murdered in your bed. I think my heart actually stopped; it made my hair stand straight up."

"It's nothing. I'll be fine." Ino quirked a small smile but didn't think to comment that his hair was already sticking straight up because of the way he tied his ponytail.

He took in her too pale face and the unsteady rise and fall of her chest. "You don't look fine. Are you sure you're alright? I don't understand what's going on with you lately. I wish you'd talk with me about it."

"It's a Yamanaka clan thing, a consequence of our bloodline. You wouldn't understand."

Shikamaru shifted onto his knees, leaning towards her. She tried not to imagine the strangely intimate tableau they made. "Try me," Shikamaru growled out. He grabbed her upper arms in a vicelike grip and pulled her towards him threateningly.

"It's the memories of someone I invaded during the war."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"When I take control of a mind or read a mind, I need to delve deep into that person's memories and leave them bare before myself so that I can possess them or see a particular memory. If the mind is particularly complex or difficult to crack, I will sometimes inadvertently incorporate some of their memories into my mind."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "That sounds really dangerous having other peoples' memories warring in your brain. It could drive you mad."

"It can," Ino nodded. "But I've been trained to prevent it. I lock up any of these foreign memories up in my mind and purge them as I go. In this case, it's been a little bit more trouble."

Shikamaru stared at the blonde haired girl. "The war was almost three months ago. How can you still be doing this?"

Ino struggled against his grip. "I don't need to explain myself to you, Shikamaru. Are you here to pressure me to join Ibiki in T&I again? I've told you already, I'll join the department as soon as I'm ready."

"Ino," he said. "I wish you would let me help you. I want to help but you keep pushing me away."

She shifted backwards to try to get away but merely ended up boxing herself in between his arms. His gaze turned hungry, as he eyed her lips and the bed that they were kneeling on. Kami, if he kissed her, she wouldn't be able to resist him. She never could. She was so easily seduced by his touch.

One hand grabbed under her chin to angle her face towards his, while the other hand tightened its grip on her forearm, pulling her closer. His breath ghosted over her lips for a moment before he claimed her mouth. She clung onto him tightly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and loving the feeling of his lean muscles under her hands.

The hand gripping her bicep shifted to her shoulder. He pushed her back onto the futon. Feeling the same urgency, Ino spread her legs to allow her lover to settle into the cradle of her hips. She let out a moan as his hands dug into the flesh of her thighs as he wrapped her legs around his waist. His fingers danced down her front to unbutton her blouse and smoothed over her stomach.

His hands caressed and his mouth worshiped every inch of exposed skin. "Your breasts are bigger," he commented before biting one nipple over her cotton bra. "I guess putting off training has some unexpected benefits."

Moaning at the stimulation, she gasped out, "You better not be calling me fa- oh, Shika!" she cried as he fingers began caressing her from the inside.

His deep chuckle in her ear sent a shiver down her spine and straight to the pulsing need blossoming within her. He kissed a line to her mouth and captured her lips in a kiss again. She let out a whine as he nipped at her lip as he pulled away, looking deep into her eyes with a smug grin.

She lay back onto the futon as he kissed a path down her stomach. His fingers were magical; she moaned and gasped for him, begging for something. He tugged off her skirt and panties and then pushed her shoulders back down onto the futon.

He smirked down at her as she looked up at him, dazed and so close to completion. Shikamaru kissed a line down her curvy stomach and then she quickly lost all sense of self as Shikamaru gripped her hips in his large hands and began to pleasure her with his mouth. His grip was hard on her hips and his tongue was relentless, finding all those places that he knew would make her scream. Her knees trembled by his shoulders and she desperately gripped the futon as she tried to find an anchor from the wonderful pleasure he was giving her. She panted and gasped.

Her hips bucked into his face as she arched off the bed, shrieking out his name in pleasure. She lay back panting, exhausted, and probably glowing. She grinned lazily up at him. "You're getting really good at that."

"Practice makes perfect." Leaning over her, he kissed her lightly on the mouth. She could taste her arousal on his tongue.

She eyed his obvious erection through his dark shinobi pants. "You're still wearing all your clothes."

"So I am," Shikamaru agreed with an amused smile.

"You should probably take them off," said Ino in mock seriousness.

"Are you not planning to help?" asked Shikamaru, quirking an eyebrow.

"Just let me catch my breath."

"Troublesome woman," he muttered.

He stood up and unzipped his flak jacket, tossing it behind them. Tugging off his long sleeve shirt and stepping out of his pants, he watched as Ino rose slowly to her feet. She strutted towards him. Her ridiculously blue eyes were so dilated they looked almost black and her blonde hair was a complete rat's nest. She had never looked more beautiful.

He let her push him down onto the center to her futon. He smirked widely as she swung a leg over his hips to straddle him. Taking his erection in a talented hand, she moved him towards her dripping sex. She sunk down onto his rigid member, closing her eyes and tipping back her head in ecstasy. They moaned in chorus.

Leaning forward, she splayed her hands on his chest as she tried to find her rhythm. Gasping and moaning, she lifted herself off him to impale herself again and again, the muscles in her thighs clenching and unclenching as she rode him.

"Oh, Kami, Ino," Shikamaru gasped out, his hands sliding up to her hips.

Her riotous blonde hair tickled his chest as it spilled over her shoulders. He let out of guttural moan, as she impaled herself on him to the hilt. He gripped her hips tightly and thrust up into her. She let out a little shriek as he penetrated her even deeper.

Her hands went to caress her own breasts as the twin globes bounced up and down with their movements. Her little gasps and moans were driving him crazy. She sank down onto him in time with his upward thrusts, panting and gasping and whimpering and moaning his name.

"Oh, Ino," he panted.

She lifted her hands up to her hair, piling it on top of her head. She whimpered out his name as he filled her so completely. He slid his hands up her belly to her breasts, pinching her hard nipples and kneading her perfect breasts.

"Shika, please!" she sobbed. She was so close.

Bucking up and down on his cock, she was driving him to insanity. He was thrusting into her erratically now. The sight of her bouncing up and down on top of him, the sound of her keening moans in chorus with his, the feeling of her tightly sheathed around him, it was too much.

It was her orgasm that drew his. He exploded into her, moaning out her name as she screamed out his. Panting, she collapsed onto his chest. His ears were still ringing.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over to rest side by side, still buried deep inside her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her shoulder and ran his hands down her naked back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six **

"The psychological effects of having to hold a prospectless position for what might seem an infinite amount of time does nothing to aid the defender's concentration." - Michael Stean

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru stood on the hill beside her, gazing down at the immense destruction wrought on the Allied Shinobi Headquarters by the Bijuu bomb. The place was a huge disaster. It had been a week since the end of the war and their fathers' deaths, but the place still smoked from the bomb. _

_Ino looked up at him. "I can't sense anything at all, it's so quiet."_

_From behind them, the ninjas from the Hidden Cloud, Darui and C, commented, "We knew it would be like this."_

_Shikamaru put his arm around Ino's shoulders and pulled her in closer to him. He sent an annoyed glance their way and said, "I doesn't make it any easier, though, does it?"_

_C looked at Ino for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry if what I said was insensitive. Your fathers' bodies are down there and our comrade Mabui's body as well." _

_The group from the Hidden Mist was close behind them. Mei Terumi herself had decided to go with their party. Her advisor and friend Ao had died in the destruction of Allied Shinobi Headquarters. Shiranui Genma stood beside her on the hill. "Ao was such a crotchety shinobi," she said breaking the silence, "always complaining about youth these days being soft. He would reminisce about the good old days during the Bloody Mist, even though he and I knew they weren't good. With his Byakugan eye, he had been the one to uncover Madara's treachery. We overthrew the Yondaime together and it was Ao who recommended me to the daimyo for the position of Godaime Mizukage. He was a grumpy old bastard, but I'm going to miss him. Losing him is like losing my right arm."_

_Darui put his hands in his pockets and looked out towards the destruction. "Rebuilding is going to be challenging for the Hidden Cloud. We lost both our Raikage and his assistant. Mabui might have seemed like nothing but a pretty face, but she was really the one running the Hidden Cloud from beside A. The Raikage hated all that administrative stuff. They were a funny team: him snapping about not wanting to sign another thrice damned form and her coolly glaring him down, holding a pen, and daring him to do otherwise. I'm going to miss both of them." _

_C smiled at the memory. He glanced Ino's way before adding, "She was a true kunoichi – softer than silk, but harder than steel."_

_Mei Terumi smiled. "Well said. Ao died a true shinobi. Somehow I have trouble imagining him dying in a bed of old age. He would say it wasn't dignified and wasn't the way they used to do things in the good old days."_

_Ino blinked a couple times, trying to keep the tears from falling from her watery eyes. "I know that I should be proud of my father for dying so bravely, but I wish…I wish it didn't have to be this way."_

_Shikamaru squeezed her arm lightly and she leaned her head against his shoulder, her blonde mane falling like a river over his shoulder. "I'm grateful for your father, Ino. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to speak with my dad one last time before his death. Your clan's bloodline gave me a precious gift."_

_Mei Terumi nodded in agreement. "Yamanaka Inoichi was an incredible man. After he transmitted Nara Shikaku's strategy, he transmitted the last words of all the shinobi who died at Headquarters to their friends and relatives. When I was lying on that barren plain bleeding out, I was able to share in Ao's final moments and for that I'm truly grateful."_

_Genma said, "Inoichi would have been very proud of the kunoichi that you've become, Ino."_

_Ino looked down at her hands, watching hot tears drip on them. She cleared her throat and said, "Well let's go find them then." _

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura knocked on the door to Yamanaka flowers. When there was no reply, she wandered in. The CLOSED sign was in the window, but the door was unlocked. Ino would be heading off the academy soon and Sakura was going to volunteer to help her out at the shop in the morning before she needed to head over to help Kakashi at the Hokage Building.

Sakura blinked at the sound of retching coming from the backroom. She ran over to the bathroom and found Ino leaning over the toilet throwing up. "Are you alright?" wondered Sakura. "We can find another sub if you're not feeling well."

Ino coughed and sat back. Rising unsteadily, she smoothed back her hair and filled a cup in the sink to rinse out her mouth. She turned to Sakura and said, "I'll be fine in a second. I was just feeling a little nauseous this morning. It'll pass soon enough. I don't want to let Choji down."

Sakura shook her head and said, "I'm calling for a new sub, Ino. You're white as a ghost. You shouldn't have to go teach the students today."

Ino leaned against the sink and sighed. "I probably just caught something from Choji's kids the other day. I'll be alright in no time."

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "You look like you have the flu. I'm going to send a message to Iruka to find someone else and then you are going to lie back in bed and I'm going to get you some crackers and tonic water. Doctor's orders."

"Okay," Ino complied meekly.

Sakura sat down at the front desk and picked up a pen and jotted a note to Kakashi and Iruka. She summoned a slug and asked it to deliver a message. As she watched it slither away out of the shop, she sighed awkwardly. The message would take forever to reach them. Slugs were wonderful healers, but they weren't great messengers. She Shunshin-ed over to the Academy and explained the situation to Iruka. She thanked him for the trouble before flickering over to the Hokage Building.

Kakashi sat back in his chair and asked, "What do I owe this surprise, Sakura?"

"Ino's not feeling well. Iruka's finding a sub for her."

"Ah, chickening out only after two days. That doesn't seem like her."

"She wasn't faking. I went by to see if I could help out in the flower shop and found her throwing up in the bathroom. She thinks that she caught something from the kiddies."

"A likely story," Kakashi said winking his one visible eye. "I guess operation scare Ino into joining T&I worked."

"I guess so."

"I'll ask Ibiki to stop over and talk with her this week about T&I."

"Okay."

* * *

**Interlude**

_She was tired, so tired. The comforting oblivion of sleep offered no respite for her anymore. Whenever she closed her eyes, terrifying memories of people and events she didn't know or understand warred for her attention._

_She tried to focus all of her energy into the chakra flowing from her hands and into this shinobi's body and not the frightening memories waiting for her when she closed her eyes. _

_Paralyzing darkness, born out of the cells of a great man. …but who were you when you were one of thousands, all born from the same seed? Your whole life meaning nothing. You were only born to serve the purpose of a madman. _

_No, pay attention, Ino! Don't lose focus now. This man's life depends on you. Just a little more chakra, just a little more focus. The external bleeding had ceased, but the internal bleeding hadn't. If you don't stop it soon, he will die. Pay attention!_

_Crushing darkness, in the moment of triumph borne down by the weight of the very earth above you. Pain… every bone in your body crushed to powder… all the while, a dangerous power awakening inside you allowing you to slip away into nothingness. Pain…your heart breaking just as surely as hers with that boy's hand plunged through her chest. Striving with all your might for a new world, for a world with her in it and just as you are about to taste victory, having it pulled out from under you. _

_A white cloth dabbed the sweat dripping down her face. She blinked in surprise at the handsome medical ninja from Kumo. His dark eyes smiled kindly at her as he smoothed the cloth over her face. "Alright there, Ino? You look worse than the guy you're supposed to be healing. Do you need a break? I can get someone else to take over."_

_Ino blinked in surprise. It wouldn't be good to collapse in the middle of a surgery. "That would probably be good, I'm beat. Thanks for checking in, C."_

_"Not a problem, Ino." The blonde haired Kumo shinobi waved over a medical ninja walking towards them. "Hey, Daisuke, can you rotate with Ino? She needs a lie down."_

_The other medical ninja dropped the box of syringes that he was carrying onto a table nearby and ran over to stand on the other side of the patient. Daisuke was a brown haired shinobi from Suna with kind dark eyes. He was about Ino's age. He beamed at her before putting his hands over the patient to assess what had been done already._

_"I've fixed up most of the internal bleeding," explained Ino. "There are only a few more vessels that need to be closed and then the blood that seeped into his lungs needs to be removed."_

_"Alright," said the medical ninja, starting to sweat. "Closing blood vessels…"_

_C chuckled at Daisuke from where he stood next to Ino. "Do you know how to close internal blood vessels?"_

_The Suna ninja blushed and replied, "No, I haven't learned that yet. I'm not good at locating internal blood vessels. I'm still working to master external bleeding."_

_C shared an amused smile with Ino before stepping forward. "Don't worry about that then. You can clear out the blood from his lungs with a syringe while I close the vessels. Alright?"_

_"Yes, sir!" said the other ninja._

_C turned to Ino. "And you go take a nap in the break room. Doctor's orders."_

_Ino rolled her eyes at him before pinching his nose playfully. "Jeez, you're so bossy, C-sempai."_

_"Off with you then." He winked. _

_Ino turned and began walking towards the break room at the back of the tent. They had several bunk beds arranged in a closet with some of the medical supplies for the medics to take naps between shifts when necessary._

_Devouring darkness, in the belly of the beast, it's chakra like poison searing your skin. But the need, the drive, the will to survive, to do whatever it takes to get out of there. A light, after living centuries in the darkness. How could this be? How could life have been breathed back into you? But here you are again, with your brother. Reunited for only moments before he was taken from you by a man wearing the uniform of your village fighting shoulder to shoulder with your enemies… _

_Strong arms slipped under her knees and shoulder blades to lift her effortlessly. There was some shuffling and then a voice in her ear. "You look a little unsteady on your feet, Ino."_

_Ino blinked in surprise, but rested her tired head on C's shoulder. "What happened?"_

_"It looked like you were sleep walking over to the break room. If you're going to be this tired, you can ask to have your shifts shortened. There's no need for you to push yourself so hard, especially considering that you're still recovering from chakra exhaustion," the Kumo shinobi said._

_"You're probably right," Ino sighed. "Is the patient alright then?"_

_C nodded with a smile. "Yeah, Daisuke's draining the blood from his lungs now. The patient should be fine. You did good work today."_

_They finally reached the backroom. C ducked under the canvas door and settled Ino on one of the lower bunks. He lingered for a moment after placing her on the bed, gazing down at her with a peculiar expression. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before wishing her sweet dreams and heading off to see the rest of his patients._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It looks like everyone picked up on that little plot point in those last two chapters. ;-) I guess I wasn't overly subtle about it. I added a longer summary of the story too, so hopefully that'll give you some clues to what's going to happen. The wonderful imsabbel gave me the inspiration for Naruto/Sakura's storyline, so thank you! **

**C from Kumogakure is not related to Ino, even though they're both blonde and sensor type ninjas. He's sort of joining in a love triangle/quadrilateral with Ino and Shikamaru. **

**I'm glad you guys are enjoying the interludes! I hope that it's not slowing down the flow of the story too much. I think it's a nice way to do some flashbacks to explain what's going on in the present. **

**Now I'll be setting up the Naruto/Sakura and Sasuke/Hinata subplots for the next couple chapters, so you'll have to be patient until the Shikamaru/Ino main plot comes back to the forefront.**

**You can expect the fast updates to continue. I actually have most of the story already written, so I'm just proofreading and posting. I still have to write a couple scenes for chapters fifteen/sixteen/nineteen/twenty-six on, but as you can see I'm really far ahead of where I'm posting now. **

* * *

**Chapter Seven **

"When you trade, the key concern is not always the value of the pieces being exchanged, but what's left on the board." - Dan Heisman

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

He had been surprised to receive Kakashi's summons. It seemed that the Konoha Village council members wished to speak with him. He was glad of it. He had some words that he wished to say to them.

Marching up to the Hokage Building in his jonin uniform, with his sword swinging from the belt at his waist, he stormed across the atrium. He rolled his eyes at the other Konoha ninja who whispered and pointed as he walked by. He had been back for a month and a half now. He was surprised that people hadn't become used to seeing him around again.

The Hokage's office was at the base of one of the six spiraling towers. Flinging open the doors, he asked. "What's this all about, Kakashi?"

The Hokage looked up from the file he was reading. He waved a hand absently at Sasuke and said, "Yo!" Closing it and picking it up in a hand, he stood up from the desk and walked towards Sasuke. "Koharu and Homaru are waiting for us."

"Well they can wait a little longer. What is this all about, Kakashi? You can shove your psychiatric examinations up your…"

Kakashi didn't betray any discernible emotion from behind his mask. "That's not what this is about. The Council wants to speak with you about the future of your clan."

Sasuke tensed. "Well those bastards can shove their apologies straight up their…"

"Save your pithy remarks for the Council. It's always good to have plenty of ammunition. Koharu might look like a kindly old grandma, but she knows how to ask all the hard questions and make a guy uncomfortable. Take it from one who knows."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just let me deal with that witch."

Kakashi smiled from behind his mask. Sasuke was out for blood. This was going to be beautiful. They walked down the hallway towards the Konoha Council's meeting room. Kakashi's office was at the base of the first tower and the Konoha Council room was on the second floor of the third tower. The sheer amount of killing intent that Sasuke was releasing made Kakashi nervous. He wondered if he should have brought a squad of ANBU with him.

What would happen if Sasuke killed the council members? Kakashi shrugged. They could always elect new members. Kurenai and Iruka maybe, they were both sensible people with the best interests of the village at heart. Heck the village might be better off. Kurenai didn't seem like such an unrepentant matchmaker.

Kakashi slid open the door to the room and stepped back to allow Sasuke to enter before him. The last Uchiha entered with such speed that Kakashi's silver hair flapped wildly in the ensuing breeze. Kakashi wandered calmly into the room, as if his pupil drawing a sword on the village elders was a common occurrence.

Sasuke leaned close to Homura, the blade of his sword biting deep enough into the old man's neck to draw a drop of blood. "Give me a reason. Give me one reason why I shouldn't slit both of your throats right here. You and your crony Danzo brought about the destruction of my clan and used my brother Itachi as the scapegoat for your corruption and incompetence. I know you went behind Sarutobi's back to authorize the massacre and convinced Itachi to do it to save my life. Itachi told me everything."

"We wish to make amends," said the old woman sitting next to Homura. The cup of tea was frozen halfway to her mouth. "What Danzo did was unpardonable, but there was no other way to prevent the destruction of the leaf."

"So instead you destroy one of its prominent clans. The Sharingan will probably be extinct by the next generation. I hope you're happy."

"That's why we wished to speak with you today," said Kotaru. "We wanted to help you to pick a suitable woman to ensure that the Sharingan will pass on to the next generation and that the Uchiha clan will be restored."

Sasuke stepped away from Homaru and sheathed his sword. "You have one minute. Speak."

Kakashi walked further into the room and sat down at the couch across from the two council members. Koharu must have started decorating. There were several vases in the room with beautiful flower arrangements. The council members must have been some of Yamanaka Flower's best customers. There was a vase of red, white, and yellow camellias. There were beautiful forget-me-nots and daffodils in pots and a riot of cherry blossoms. The arrangement of pink peonies was particularly beautiful and the sheer number of red roses was astonishing.

Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of the council members impatiently.

"The best way to ensure the passing on of the Sharingan will be to have children with several different women. In that way, you can-"

"That much is obvious. However, I don't wish to engage in polygamy to jump start my clan. I don't want a hundred useless children who have little hope of awakening the Sharingan. My children will not be strong unless the woman who bore them is also strong."

"Alright," said Koharu. "If that's what you want. I've compiled a list of all the marriages of Uchiha clan members outside of the clan. From this I've identified a list of possible women that will ensure that you have the greatest chance of passing along the Sharingan to your children."

Sasuke blinked in surprise. He took a step back and sat next to Kakashi on the opposite couch. "I'm listening."

Koharu and Homaru exchanged a glance before the female council member began speaking. "I've recorded a list of clan intermarriage going back four generations to the founding of Konoha. Our records after that are less comprehensive. Here are my findings:

"Clanless Ninja - There have been twenty four marriages between members of the Uchiha clan to a clanless ninja. Of these marriages, there were forty-five children of which ten or 22% possessed the Sharingan.

"Nara Clan – there were seven marriage to the Nara clan. There were nine children from these unions and seven awoke the Sharingan. That's 78% of the children inheriting the Sharingan.

"Akimichi clan – there were four marriages, seven children children and four Sharingans. That's 57% chance inheriting the Uchiha bloodline.

"Yamanaka clan – there were six marriages, eight children and six with the Sharingan. That's a 75% success rate.

"Hyuga clan – twenty two marriages, forty children and thirty-seven Sharingans. That's a 93% success rate.

"Aburame clan – seven marriages, three children and one Sharingan. That's a 33% success rate.

"Inuzuka clan – six marriages, sixteen children and ten Sharingan. That's a 63% success rate."

Sasuke nodded after Koharu was finished speaking. "Marriage between a Hyuga and an Uchiha has a 93% success rate. I guess I should marry a Hyuga woman then."

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. "This data that you have about the Uchiha clan marriages and children, how did you compile it?"

"The village records. Marriage certificates, birth certificates, and ninja registration forms."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright. I might commission my intelligence division to complete a similar analysis. I'm curious about the conclusions as well. Did you only track marriages and children between an Uchiha man and a member of a different clan?"

"No," said Koharu. "We wanted a larger sample size, so we used Uchiha men and women."

"Bloodlines are be passed differently through the mother and father. It would be better to restrict your data to Uchiha men when completing this analysis," countered Kakashi. "You may also want to look closely at the birth records and gossip from the village during the time where available. It's possible that there are bastard Uchiha children not mentioned in those numbers or children whose parents aren't who you expected. This could distort your conclusions as well. You should also mention the relative strength of each of these children and their children. A high number of children with weak Sharingans is not as good as a low number of children with strong Sharingans."

Sasuke frowned at Koharu. "So the numbers you've just cited are meaningless."

"Not in the slightest," said Homura. "Kakashi's team will no doubt draw the same conclusions that we have."

Koharu nodded. Turning to Sasuke, she asked, "What type of girl would you like, then? Do you like dark eyes, light eyes? Dark hair, light hair? Petite women, tall women? Thin women, curvaceous women? What is your favorite part of a woman's body? Breasts, legs, butt?" asked Koharu

"I'd like a kunoichi with dark hair and dark eyes," answered Sasuke. "Not too petite, average height and curvaceous. Someone quiet and demure."

"We'll also take that under consideration," said Koharu.

"We'll be sure to find a woman to your specifications."

"Can we also give you measurements?" quipped Kakashi ironically.

"We'll see what we can do," answered Koharu. "I also wanted to mention to you, Sasuke. When you and your wife are engaging in sexual intercourse, it's best to use the missionary position if she wishes to conceive. It's also helpful to put a pillow under her and have her sit with her legs and hips in the air afterwards. The gravity can help your sperm to fertilize one of her eggs."

Sasuke and Kakashi shared a look of horror. "I'm sure Sasuke will take that under advisement," Kakashi said.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke sat at the edge of the dock over the lake in the Uchiha compound. Karin stood on the edge of the deck next to him yelling at Suigetsu as their friend frolicked around in the water. Sakura and Naruto lay on the dock behind him under an umbrella that she had put up. They were reading an Uzumaki scroll about sealing techniques together. Sasuke was grateful that they weren't bothering him._

_"Why don't you just leave him alone, Karin," said Sasuke. "He's half-fish anyway."_

_Karin huffed and sat down next to Sasuke on the deck. "I don't understand how his bloodline works at all."_

_Sakura chuckled from behind them. "I don't understand how any of your bloodlines work. Sasuke has a freaky dojutsu, Naruto's a stamina freak, you can heal people by having them suck your chakra, and Suigetsu can turn his body to water. All of it is weird to a clanless kunoichi like me."_

_Naruto leered at her. "I haven't heard you complain about my stamina before, Sakura-chan."_

_Sakura blushed brick red. Slapping Naruto across the face, she sputtered, "That's not what I meant."_

_Sasuke complained, "I don't want to hear about Naruto's sexual habits, Sakura. Can't you two keep it down for five minutes?"_

_"But we're not even dating!" Sakura yelled, slapping Naruto across the face again. "Stop telling people we're dating, Naruto!"_

_"That would be a funny bloodline though," mused Kain. "Being an awesome lover. Heck, maybe it's an aspect of the Uzumaki bloodline. We do have remarkable stamina and are sexy as hell."_

_"Yeah!" said Naruto excitedly, pumping his fist in the air. "Let's go with that, cousin!"_

_Sakura put her face in her hands. "I still can't believe you introduced me to the Fourth Hokage as your girlfriend. It was—"_

_"Well he asked if you were. I didn't want to disappoint him."_

_Sakura went on, "I get to meet one of the most famous shinobi in the world and you go introducing me not an awesome kunoichi or your teammate or a student of the legendary Tsunade. You introduce me as your girlfriend! Is it a crime to want some respect?"_

_"I totally agree with you there, Sakura," said Karin. "I wouldn't mind a bit more respect from Sasuke and Suigetsu. It's Karin, heal my wounds, Karin, make me a sandwich, Karin, help me track down this random ninja so I can kill him. Never, Karin, thank you for being a kickass kunoichi and my teammate."_

_"But Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "My dad did like you. He thinks you're an awesome kunoichi. He said you reminded him of my mom who was a kickass Uzumaki kunoichi."_

_Sakura pouted. She stood up to sit next to Karin. _

_Suigetsu swam up to the dock. "Trouble in paradise, folks?" he wondered._

_"Suigetsu," Karin demanded. "Why don't you ever tell me that I'm a kickass kunoichi?"_

_"Huh?" wondered Suigetsu. "I wouldn't hang out with you and Sasuke if you weren't."_

_Karin gaped at him. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."_

_"You are so weird," muttered Suigetsu. _

_Naruto walked over and sat on the dock next to Sakura, putting his feet in the water too. He winked sideways at his cousin. Karin smiled slightly back. Turning to Sasuke, Karin wondered, "So now that you're home, settled, and more or less have a job, are you going to start thinking about restoring your clan?"_

_Sasuke snorted. "Are you volunteering?"_

_"It's a legitimate question," said Sakura. "Now that you're a Konoha shinobi again, the village council and the Hokage will be interested in having you work towards restoring your clan."_

_"Not you too," muttered Sasuke in annoyance._

_Sakura blushed. "I-I…"_

_"Sakura-chan," whined Naruto. "I thought you loved me."_

_"For the last time, I'm not your girlfriend, Naruto!"_

_Naruto's face fell. _

_Karin leaned towards Sasuke. "So what's your type, Sasuke? What do you like?"_

_Leaning away from the Uzumaki girl, he replied, "Let's just say I don't like the idea of the Uchiha clan becoming known for their Sharingan and red or pink hair." _

_"Yeah," agreed Suigetsu. "The colors would clash."_

_Sakura glared at the Mist shinobi. "Are you saying I clash by wearing red with my pink hair?"_

_"Don't listen to Suigetsu, Sakura," said Karin. "He's an idiot."_

_"I think you're beautiful, Sakura!" said Naruto. "Red is an awesome color, not as cool as orange, but it's pretty okay."_

_"Besides," continued Suigetsu, "the Uchiha clan would lose their dark brooding look if they had bright pink or red hair."_

_"I don't mind the Uzumaki clan being known for their pink hair, Sakura."_

_Karin snorted. "Naruto, the Uzumaki clan is already known for their red hair." _

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura sat at the counter at Yamanaka Flowers reading through missions reports, matching D rank missions to genin cells, wondering how Choji's and Kimiko's teams were doing on their first mission outside of Konoha, and wondering how her friend Ino was doing upstairs.

After she had put Ino to bed and went to get saltines and tonic water for the girl, she found Ino throwing up in the bathroom again. She held her friend's hair and rubbed her back as the blonde girl was sick again.

Ino lay back in bed after having a sip of the tonic water. "I'm never teaching at the academy again," she told her friend.

Sakura grinned apologetically. "I'm sorry that Choji's class made you sick."

"Ugh," moaned Ino laying back. "And they're adorable but so energetic. I swear those five year olds have more energy than I've ever seen. It was like a class full of Naruto's."

Sakura grinned as she looked around the flower shop, her eyes stopping on some bright orange flowers. Naruto had been a little hellion when he was a kid, playing pranks and generally being a nuisance. Now that she thought back, he was probably just seeking acknowledgement of any kind from anybody. She wished that she had known that as a child. Naruto was such a kind, forgiving, and gentle soul. She would have liked to have begun their friendship earlier. He was so good to her.

Little Narutos were a scary thought though. If she ever married Naruto, she was frightened to think what their children would be like. They would probably be just as spunky and energetic as her blonde friend. They would probably be really cute, though, with blonde, pink, or strawberry blonde hair. Ack! Married to Naruto? Having kids with Naruto? Bad thoughts!

She hit her head against the front desk. She ought to stop thinking such crazy things. Maybe she could ask Ino to do a mind wipe on her. She was supposed to be in love with Sasuke, right?

Her romantic crisis was brought to a swift end as the bell chimed and a woman walked into the flower shop. She looked vaguely familiar to Sakura with her shoulder length curly blonde hair and brown eyes. She was a medical ninja too. They had worked together at the hospital for some time. Fujii Aiko was her name.

She paused at seeing Sakura sitting at the front desk. "Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

Sakura waved and said, "Hi, Aiko-sempai. Just helping out. Ino's supposed to be teaching at the academy today, but she's not feeling well."

The older woman nodded. "That's too bad. I hope she feels better." She paused at the potted plants, looking at the prices of the hydrangea and gerbera daisies. "I haven't seen you in a while, Sakura-chan. How've you been?"

"Really good," said Sakura. "I'm sorry that I haven't been at the hospital, but Kakashi-sensei just about begged me on hands and knees to help him assign some of the C,D, and E rank missions."

Aiko chuckled, before setting her eyes on the pink and blue potted hydrangea. "That Kakashi, he's so lazy."

"Don't I know it," Sakura laughed. "He was just as bad when his was my genin sensei."

"I bet," she nodded. "Don't know how Anko puts up with him."

"She has the patience of a saint," said Sakura nodding.

"That or she has his wrapped around her finger."

"That too," laughed Sakura. "They're good for each other though."

Aiko pointed at the flowers. "Pink or Blue?"

Sakura pointed to her hair. "I'm usually partial to pink."

"Hm," Aiko mused. "I'll do pink then."

She picked up the flower and walked towards the front desk. "So when are you coming back to the hospital, Sakura? You were one of the best medical ninjas we had. I'm sure that Kakashi can spare you, or at least shove more of that work on someone else."

"I dunno," said Sakura. "It's sort of fun being in the thick of things at the Hokage Building, but I suppose working at the hospital would be nice to do again."

Aiko smiled and set the large potted flower down on the table. "Man, Ino charges an arm and a leg for these things. This is twenty thousand ryo!"

"It's market price," said Sakura.

"I don't suppose you could give me a discount, Sakura?"

Sakura scoffed. "Oh please, Aiko-sempai, you're making a lot more than either Ino or I. Surely you can fork out a couple ryo for those pretty flowers."

Aiko winked, taking out her purse and handing Sakura the bills. "You drive a hard bargain."

Sakura handed her the change and asked, "So are you still working in Obstetrics and Gynecology? Haven't asked for a rotation to a different department?"

"Yep, still an OB/GYN," Aiko said, putting the bills in her wallet. "The little babies are so cute, I can't help myself."

Sakura leaned back in her chair and nodded to the flowers. "I can put some pretty paper and a ribbon around those if you'd like."

"That'd be great, thanks, Sakura!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"We cannot resist the fascination of sacrifice, since a passion for sacrifices is part of a chessplayer's nature." - Rudolf Spielmann

* * *

**Interlude**

_It had come as something of a shock to Yamato when Kenta and Watanabe Shinju appeared in his office. It was unexpected, because they were back several days early and because they were back because Yamato had been forced to activate the emergency reverse summoning on them. _

_They were two of his best ANBU members. Kenta was such an exceptional, trustworthy, and kind ANBU captain that is was his team that Yamato had decided to place Sasuke on. He was a man around Kakashi's age with a quick smile and wild green hair. Watanabe Shinju was about the same age with straight dark hair and dark eyes. He was tall and serious, but a hard worker and a talented shinobi._

_Watanabe Shinju was slumped over the body of Kenta and weeping. Kenta was dead._

_Yamato jumped up from his seat and said, "What on earth happened? This was supposed to be a simple infiltration and information gathering mission."_

_Shinju sat back on his knees. Taking off his mask, he wiped the tears from his face. "We were taken by surprise." _

_Yamato leaned down to take the mask off Kenta's face. The green haired man's eyes were closed. His teammate must have done that already out of respect. The ANBU captain's face was ravaged. What looked like claw marks had slashed an angry line across his face. His jawline was marked with similar scars. It was almost difficult to identify him if not for the mask and the familiar green hair. _

_"What happened?" asked Yamato looking down at Kenta's ravaged face. _

_"We were made as Konoha spies. I barely made it out of there alive," said Shinju._

_Sitting back on his ankles, Yamato looked over at the ANBU. "How could it have gone this badly? I only wanted you to infiltrate Yugakure to see if the rumors about the village being rebuilt have any merit and whether or not they're going to become a threat to us."_

_Shinju nodded grimly. "Well they are."_

_Yamato stood up. "So soon? Yugakure was more or less wiped off the map when Hidan of the Akatsuki went rogue. But he's gone now. How can they have rebuilt and become so strong after the massacre?"_

_"I don't know."_

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

"Why are you here again?" wondered Kakashi.

"Well, you sent my date away on a week-long mission with her class of academy students, so I'm protesting in your office."

"You're doing a sit in?" wondered Kakashi.

"That's right," said Yamato with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright," said Kakashi, getting back to the mission requests.

Thirty minutes later, Kakashi looked up at his ANBU commander. "Still here? You must have something better to do that just sit here."

"I've already had our new recruits in for the ANBU examinations."

Kakashi looked up from his papers. "Oh, how'd they do then?"

"They all passed and we've placed them to the teams as planned."

"Hyuga Hinata passed too?"

Yamato nodded. "Yep. Barely, but she still passed."

"Hm," replied Kakashi. He put down his pen.

"Are you done assigning that single S-Rank mission then?" replied Yamato testily.

"It's quite a difficult mission to assign," quipped Kakashi.

Yamato rolled his eyes. "I'm sure."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "Quite difficult. Taking a lot of time. All these marriage alliances between clans and villages are very difficult too. I can't imagine why they think I'm remotely qualified to determine these things."

"Quite right," said Yamato. "Your only knowledge about marriage and relationships comes from Jiraiya's seedy literature."

"I'm sure Naruto would take offense at you insulting his beloved mentor."

"Nah, Naruto agrees with me that Jiraiya's later novels are seedy at best."

"Hn."

"Marriage alliances?" wondered Yamato. "The Konoha Council trying to help Sasuke jump start the Uchiha clan?"

"Yep. I had a meeting with the three of them this afternoon. I may be scared for life now after having to hear about Sasuke's sexual preferences and Koharu's recommendations about the best sexual positions for conception."

"I'm glad that I waited until after that meeting to stage my protest then," noted Yamato.

"Very wise," nodded Kakashi. "Though, it's only a matter of time before Koharu tracks you down. She believes that you and your wood are a treasure to Konoha."

"Me and my what?"

"Your wood style. I can't imagine what you think you heard, Yamato."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me that Koharu's going to try to arrange a marriage for me next? Lovely. Is it too late to become a rogue ninja?"

"It's never too late for that," quipped Kakashi. "Mind if I join you? I'll just let Naruto take over a bit earlier than expected. Koharu's starting to threaten setting up an arranged marriage for me too."

"That's just horrible," said Yamato. "Anko would probably castrate you if that happened."

Kakashi winced, not even bothering to deny it. His lover was sexy as hell, but she wouldn't be pleased to hear that Kakashi was arranged to marry some seventeen year old kunoichi from Kami knows where.

"Becoming a rogue ninja does sound pretty good right now," Kakashi agreed.

Yamato looked out the window behind Kakashi. "Especially after your face is finished being carved on the cliff face and everyone sees who won the betting pools. People might get testy and try to rearrange your face."

Kakashi ignored his friend, musing, "Just imagine what my bounty would be if I went rogue. Koharu would probably send a horde of beautiful kunoichi after me with the command to take me by force. I'd probably enjoy every minute of it."

"I'm not sure what exactly you're implying," Yamato deadpanned.

"She'll probably send a troupe after you too. No need to feel bad."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "That's strangely comforting."

"I wonder who would have the greater bounty in the bingo books and on the black market," mused Kakashi. "You're entry would probably be like…hm. That's strange. I don't think I know your real name."

The brown haired man furrowed his brows at the Hokage. "You mean, Kakashi, after all the years we've known each other, you don't even know what my real name is?"

Kakashi scratched the skin above his mask awkwardly. "Everyone time we're on a mission, you go by a different code name. Yamato, Tenzo, Barbie…"

"I've never gone by Barbie," Tenzo interjected quickly.

"You probably just forgot about it."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "And my ninja profile doesn't tell you my real name?"

"Nope," said Kakashi. "Many ninja profiles are woefully incomplete."

"Why the sudden curiosity?"

Kakashi shrugged idly. "I've always wondered why you don't go by your real name. Must be something really embarrassing."

"Maybe I don't know my real name. Ever think of that? I was orphaned and then one of Danzo and Orochimaru's experiments. Maybe I forgot my parents' names and my own name."

Kakashi was amused by the defensive tone. He replied, "In that case, I can help you look if you'd like. It's been awhile, but I'm sure there's a record somewhere. No sense in you never knowing where you came from and who you are."

"That's strangely touching, which makes me automatically suspicious."

"We can check before we become rogue ninjas. No sense in having a nickname or codename in your bingo book. They might decide to call you something that's not very cool. It's probably best to go by your real name."

"Fine, it's Yamamoto Butsuma. Yamamoto's the name of my mother's family."

"And Butsuma is your first name."

"Yes."

Kakashi snorted, "I can see why you don't go by it. That's horrible."

"It's a family name," Yamato growled between his teeth. "My father's father was named Butsuma."

"Poor bastard."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke frowned as he stood ramrod straight in front of Yamato's desk. Kenta was dead. He had been Sasuke's first captain in ANBU. The green haired man was one of the few people in Konoha that the last Uchiha could actually tolerate. He was a hard ass, but he was fair. He judged Sasuke not by the past but by the present. _

_Watanabe Shinju, his newly promoted ANBU captain, on the other hand was a jackass. He wasn't too excited about having the last Uchiha on team and would have preferred if Sasuke was dropped from ANBU. He had a tendency to look at Sasuke like he'd murdered his whole family. _

_The last member of the team was a guy named Sugawara Takeshi who was only a couple years older than Sasuke. On missions, he would usually leave Sasuke on his own or with Kenta. When the squad of four was deployed, it would usually be Sasuke and Kenta as a pair and Shinju and Takeshi as the other. Sasuke preferred it that way. Takeshi wasn't a jackass, but he wasn't too interesting or that good of a ninja._

_So here Sasuke was standing in front of Yamato with his two teammates. His one month probationary period was up, so they would decide if he would be allowed to continue as a member of ANBU or if he would have to be dismissed._

_Takeshi handed his evaluation to Yamato. Shinju presented his with much more pomp and circumstance. After all he was the new captain of the squad. Jackass._

_"Now that I'm the ANBU captain of Sasuke's squad and Kenta was unable to complete his evaluation before his death, I've included the captain's evaluation in with my teammate evaluation."_

_"Thank you," said Yamato. "But I'm afraid that won't be necessary. Fortunately, Kenta was able to write his evaluation before his death, so I have his as well. We found it in his apartment among his other possessions."_

_"Ah," said Shinju in surprise. "I wasn't aware."_

_"Thank you, gentlemen," said Yamato. "I'll discuss these with Kakashi and discuss then with you, Sasuke, after we're done."_

_Sasuke nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the great reviews! I noticed that no one caught onto the little hint I'm giving about Yamato's parentage with his first name...**

* * *

**Chapter Nine **

"Be a harsh critic of your own wins." - Vasilios Kotronias

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

"Sakura-chan! Let's go out for ramen!"

Sakura jumped in shock at seeing Naruto crouching in the window. She was in a conference room on the third floor of the spiral tower that housed Kakashi's office in the Hokage building. Naruto was wearing his ANBU fatigues, flak jacket, and a wide grin.

"Hey, what are you doing crouching in the window, baka!" she yelled hitting him on the head.

Naruto rubbed his head. "Just thought I'd drop in. It's almost lunchtime anyway. So how about it?"

Sakura twirled around in the swivel chair and crossed her arms. Raising her eyebrows, she said, "You know that you can eat things other than ramen. It's actually an evolutionary necessity. One cannot live on ramen alone."

Naruto swung into the room. He lifted her out of her chair and carried her bridal style out of the room. "You'll have to take that up with Teuchi. He says that he'll go out of business if I stop eating his ramen."

Sakura shook her head at him, putting an arm around his shoulder, "That's because you probably account for 90% of Ichiraku's profits."

"Iruka-sensei eats there a lot too," said Naruto. "I don't see you giving him a hard time about it."

"Well that's because he's soft on Ayame," countered Sakura.

Naruto paused for a moment in thought. "You may be right."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Why don't you put me down, Naruto? We can get there faster if we Shinshin over there."

Naruto placed her back on her feet and in a flash of smoke, they were at Ichiraku ramen. "Old man, two orders of Pork ramen for me and a vegetable ramen for Sakura!"

Ayame had just finished putting the fishcakes on an order of pork ramen when Naruto appeared. Teuchi placed the vegetable ramen in front of Sakura and Ayame put the pork in front of Naruto.

"Thanks!" said Naruto before digging in with gusto.

Sakura glanced down at her ramen in surprise. "Do you have a summoning contract with ramen or something, Teuchi-san? Because that was really fast," asked Sakura.

Teuchi laughed at that and said, "No, we just have Naruto's schedule down to a science. He's got an ANBU meeting on Tuesday before lunch and then he picks you up and you're usually here by 12:15 for lunch."

"Wow," said Naruto looking up at his friend with a mouth full of noodles. "That's amazing."

"Naruto!" said Sakura hitting him over the head. "It's not good for a shinobi to be that predictable. You could get assassinated really easily if someone pays any attention!"

Ayame laughed at the pair of them.

Naruto pointed to Sakura's ramen. "Well then you're just as predictable as I am. They had your ramen ready too didn't they?"

Sakura blinked in surprise and Teuchi laughed, "He's got you there, Sakura."

The pink haired kunoichi pouted and went back to her ramen morosely. There was a little breeze as the flap to the stand was pulled back and someone else stepped in. It was Umino Iruka. "I thought I'd find you here, Naruto."

Sakura banged her head on the table. Her teammate was so predictable.

"The usual, Iruka?" asked Ayame.

"Yeah, thanks, Ayame," said the academy teacher smiling at the woman. Ayame blushed and went to prepare Iruka's ramen. Naruto watched all this considering.

Iruka sat on the stood next to Naruto. "So I'm trying to get a couple jonin together to speak with the students at the academy. Would you and Sakura like to do it?"

"Sure!" said Naruto. "That sounds like fun!"

Sakura smiled at the academy teacher. "Sure, Iruka-sensei. I'll do it too."

Iruka smiled. "That's great news. The students at the academy are always talking about you guys, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have you in class."

Naruto grinned. "Hear that, Sakura? I'm famous!"

Sakura ignored him and asked, "So, Iruka-sensei, who else is going?"

Iruka was distracted for a moment when Ayame put his bowl down in front of him. "Thanks, Ayame."

"Is it mostly other jonin from our year at the academy? A lot of us were promoted after the war," said Sakura.

Iruka nodded, "Shikamaru said that he will and Inuzuka Kiba too. The kids begged me to ask. They really wanted to meet Akamaru. Then there's the two of you."

"Why don't you ask Sasuke?" said Naruto. "I'm sure the kids would like to meet him too. Go Team Seven!"

Sakura looked uneasy. "Do you think that'll be wise?"

Iruka hesitated before answering, "I can ask Sasuke. I don't want him to feel left out."

"I can talk with him about it," said Naruto. "That way he'll have to say yes."

Having finished his ramen, Iruka pushed his bowl forward and said, "Thanks, Ayame, that was delicious."

Naruto gave Iruka a vulpine grin. "So Iruka-sensei. When are you going to ask Ayame-chan out on a date?"

Ayame blushed crimson and Iruka gaped at his former student. Naruto grinned smugly at him. Iruka glanced back at Ayame and said, "I didn't intend for it to be like this, but I would like to go on a date with you sometime. I'll promise not have Naruto anywhere near it."

Ayame giggled and said, "That would be lovely, Iruka."

"How about tomorrow night?"

"That would be great," said Ayame.

"I'll pick you up at seven," said Iruka. Turning to Naruto, the chunin asked, "So Naruto, when are you going to ask Sakura-chan out on a date?"

"Eh?" wondered Naruto. "We're on a date right now, Iruka sensei."

"We're not on a date!" said Sakura blushing. "We're just having lunch."

"It looks like a date to me," said Teuchi.

"If it's not a date, why are you blushing, Sakura-chan?" teased Ayame.

"I'll see you guys at the academy tomorrow at ten and you tomorrow evening, Ayame."

"See you soon, Iruka," called Ayame.

Teuchi set another bowl of ramen down in front of Naruto. The blonde haired jonin mused, "That Iruka sure is a smooth operator."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Kakashi kicked his feet up on Yamato's desk. "Not a glowing recommendation to say the least."_

_"Yeah," said Yamato. "I was surprised they were so negative. Sasuke's got a very good track record completing missions. What they say about his being impossible to work with might be true, but it's not reason to request his dismissal from ANBU."_

_Kakashi flipped back to Kenta's report. "I expected some prejudice with Sasuke entering ANBU, but I didn't think his own teammates would be so harsh."_

_"Sasuke did make a lot of enemies," said Yamato. "It's a good thing that Kenta's recommendation was so good. Otherwise we might have found ourselves in a tough spot."_

_"Even if all his evaluators' recommendations were negative, you and I could still overrule it," said Kakashi. "We make the final decision. I was going to keep Sasuke in ANBU regardless of his evaluators' words. We would have just had to pull some strings."_

_Yamato shook his head. "Takeshi's evaluation was pretty neutral, so it wouldn't help Sasuke one way or the other, but Shinju's was scathing. Do you think it's wise to keep Sasuke on the same team as him?"_

_Kakakshi shrugged. "They'll have to learn to work with each other. It's as simple as that. This will teach both of them about learning how to deal with adversity."_

_"I was afraid you'd say that," said Yamato. "We'll have to fill that spot in the squad. Any idea who with?"_

_Kakashi scratched the skin above his mask, "We'll have some new recruits soon. We can put one of them on that team, someone with good tracking skills."_

_"Someone who won't get on Sasuke's nerves," Yamato amended. "Sasuke'll make all our lives miserable otherwise."_

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"Oi, teme, are you ready to go?"

His cousin Karin was sitting on the couch in Sasuke's living room. She was laying down reading a book, her feet in Suigetu's face. The Hozuki boy was moving them out of the way every so often. He called upstairs, "Eh, Sasuke. Naruto's here. Let's get going."

Naruto turned to the Mist shinobi curiously as Karin sat up. "You guys are coming too?"

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "We invited ourselves along."

"We're just going to sit in the back and watch," said Karin wandering towards the kitchen. "I'll get the popcorn, Suigetsu."

"Bring a couple bottles of water too."

Karin turned around in the doorway and pointed a finger at him. "You drink way too much water, it can't be healthy. All your cells are going to hyponatremia or something!"

"Hey, it's my special ability, I can't help it. I go through water faster than normal people do."

"A likely story," Karin mused, heading into the kitchen to fill up a storage scroll with some goodies for them to enjoy while watching the fireworks. "This is going to be so awesome."

"Oi, Karin," called Naruto. "Can you put some ramen in there too?"

Suigetsu scratched his head. "Not sure how well ramen travels in storage scrolls."

Naruto winked at him. "Travels just fine, trust me."

Sasuke stood on the bottom stair, looking completely miserable in his Konoha uniform, forest green flak jacket and all. Naruto thought it looked kickass. He wasn't sure why his bastard of a best friend looked so morose. "I can't believe you talked me into this."

"What are friends for?" asked Suigetsu, standing up from the couch. "But to kick you when you're down."

"Can we just get this over with?" asked Sasuke.

Karin walked back into the room, putting a scroll in the pocket of her shorts. "Ready to go?"

Sasuke looked at her curiously. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, we're coming too," said Suigetsu.

"Absolutely not," Sasuke scoffed. "Naruto, you said Iruka only wanted me to come, he didn't mention Suigetsu or Karin."

Naruto grinned mischievously. "Iruka wants them too. Didn't I tell you?"

"This is absolutely ridiculous. And such a waste of my time," said Sasuke as they shunshin-ed over. "I have better things to do that stand and be gawked at by a troop of sniveling idiots. I get that enough already."

They appeared in Iruka's office. Sakura, Shikamaru, and Kiba were already there. Iruka blinked at seeing Karin and Suigetsu there. Naruto nodded to them and said, "They wanted to come too."

"The more the merrier," said Iruka. "Choji and Kimiko's classes are together in the auditorium. We'll be presenting to them today."

"How old are those classes?" wondered Kiba.

"Five, six, and seven. They're the pre-academy classes for kids who show promise but are too young to enroll. The cut off is eight for the regular academy classes," explained Iruka.

"So this is the class with all the little geniuses," noted Naruto.

"You could say that." The academy teacher nodded.

"Wonderful," said Kiba sharing an amused glance with Naruto. Akamaru got to his feet and huffed. "I'm sure that they know not to pet you unless you say so," said Kiba. "There's a couple Inuzuka kids the class anyway, it should be fine."

The seven ninjas and the one ninja dog went to stand on the stage in front of the two classes. Their teachers were standing among them, trying to keep the peace. The female teacher had situated herself between a particularly rowdy pair of boys. There was a trio of little girls hanging off Choji. They thought of him as a human teddy bear.

"This is Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hozuki Suigetsu, and Uzumaki Karin. Say hello everyone," said Iruka introducing the shinobi and kunoichi to the classes.

There was a flurry of cheering and awkward questions.

"Can I pet Akamaru?" was the first question, of course.

Kiba helped the little girl onto the stage who wanted to pet the huge ninja hound. She held up a hand unsure of what to do. The massive beast was even taller than her.

As she was petting Akamauru, there was a flurry of conversation from the little girls hanging off Choji in the front of the group.

"I didn't know Naruto-sempai was married," said a little girl with strawberry blonde hair.

"He's not married stupid, because I'm going to marry him," said the dark-haired girl next to her.

"But that red headed lady's name is Uzumaki too," said the little brunette.

"She's probably his sister or something," said the dark haired girl.

Naruto scratched his head and laughed, saying, "Karin and I are cousins. We just meet a couple months ago."

A little boy held up his hand. "If you're cousins, why did you just meet?"

Karin crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I used to live in a different village. But now I live in Konoha."

The three little girls at the front were tugging on Choji's sleeve again. "Where's Ino-sensei? I thought she was coming too," asked the strawberry blonde haired one.

"Yeah, why isn't Ino-sensei here?" demanded the dark-haired one.

"Is she coming later?" asked the brunette.

"Do you know them, Choji-sensei?" asked a little Hyuga girl, pulling on her teacher's hand.

"Iruka only invited jonin today to talk with us. Ino-sensei is still a chunin," answered Choji.

A little boy with wispy white hair standing next to Choji pouted. "Meh, Ino-sensei's better and prettier than them."

"Naruto-sempai! Can you show us a cool jutsu?" called a boy in the back row. "My dad said that you have a jutsu that looks like a shuriken but's not a shuriken."

"Yeah, that's my Rasenshuriken."

"Can you go into Kyuubi mode, Naruto?" asked the boy next to the first excitedly. "My brother says it's the coolest thing ever."

Deep in Naruto's consciousness, he could hear a voice growling, **"Naruto, you know I don't like being used as a parlor trick. It's bad enough that I'm trapped in here."**

The kids were hollering at him to see or pet the Kyuubi and Naruto felt a chill of revulsion. _"I won't do that to you, Kurama. I want you free of your prison as much as you do."_

Kurama rumbled back, "**Don't make a promise, Naruto, that's impossible to keep."**

Iruka looked uneasy. "Naruto, I don't think that you should. You might destroy the building. That's too dangerous."

The two boys in the back looked furious. One tugged on his teacher's arm and said, "Kimiko-sensei, why won't Iruka-sensei let us see Naruto-sempai's jutsu? It's not fair. You never show us anything cool!"

The kunoichi with dark hair crouched down in front of the boy. "Naruto's jutsu is an S-Ranked technique. Do you know what that means?"

The second boy spoke up. "That it's totally awesome."

Kimiko shook her head. "It means that it's totally dangerous. It's a kage level technique. Jutsu that powerful can be extremely dangerous to do indoors."

The first boy nodded. "Okay. So Naruto-sempai will do it for us outside."

Kimiko stood up, saying, "If it's not too dangerous."

Naruto cleared his throat and finally spoke with the children, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to use the Kyuubi mode for you guys. It would be disrespectful towards Kurama. He fought just as hard as the Konoha ninja during the war. It's not right to jeer and gape at him like a pet in a zoo."


	10. Chapter 10

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Ten **

"The Chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chessboard, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem." - Marcel Duchamp

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was the second Summit of the Five Kage in as many months. Many faces had changed since the first meeting; many had stayed the same. Kakashi sat in the Hokage's chair at the table, Yamato and Naruto standing behind him. The blonde shinobi was bursting with nervous energy. There was a particular item dear to his heart that he hoped would be passed to his satisfaction._

_The group from Kumogakure had added a new member. Darui, who had been the Raikage's bodyguard during the previous summit, had ascended to the position as kage. C stood behind Darui, his arms crossed over his chest. He was watching the delegation from Konohagakure with interest. The Raikage's other bodyguard was a woman with fierce golden eyes and a thick mane of dark red hair. Like many ninjas, she had been devastated by the loss of someone close to her during the war. In her case, it had been her sensei Killer B. _

_The Iwagakure delegation was not much changed. Kitsuchi had taken his father's place as the Tsuchikage. He had brought along his daughter, Kurotsuchi, and Akatsuchi as Oonoki had to the previous Summit. The Sunagakure group was identical to the group that had participated in the previous summit. Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, sat in front of her bodyguards. They were two members of the seven ninja swordsmen, Chojuro and a girl named Izumi with silvery white hair._

_Gaara folded his hands on the table and began the meeting by saying, "Congratulations on your appointments, Kakashi-sama, Darui-sama, and Kitsuchi-sama. I'm sure Konoha, Kumo, and Iwa will thrive under your leadership as they did under the reign of your predecessors."_

_"Thank you, Gaara-sama," said Kakashi._

_Darui nodded at Gaara with a little smile._

_"I always said that my father would rather die in the Tsuchikage's seat than retire. I didn't expect him to take it so literally." The other kages laughed at Kitsuchi's quip. It was totally on the mark. Leaning back in his chair, the Tsuchikage continued, "We've been restructuring our forces and trying to take mission requests, but we're getting overrun with them. Those upstart minor villages are starting to prey on our customers and even our ninjas."_

_Darui nodded. "Our man power is greatly diminished. Among the five of us, there may be only enough ninja to populate two or three ninja villages."_

_Mei Terumi crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you suggesting that we abandon our village and throw in our lot with you? After working so hard to ensure the future of our villages, it seems like a betrayal."_

_"We could start from scratch," said Gaara. _

_"What would the daimyo think?" wondered Kakashi. "They were tolerant of our creating the Allied Shinobi Forces, but they might take us creating an Allied Shinobi village as a threat to their power."_

_"We'll just have to do our best to ensure our village's survival," said Mei Terumi. "It's these days more than any other that the alliances between us must remain strong."_

_"Agreed," said Darui. "I assume that you'll want to discuss overturning the edict then." _

_The Mizukage nodded. "With the collaboration during the war, many shinobi and kunoichi from different villages formed strong bonds with each other. Our predecessors frowned on the union of ninjas from different ninja villages. During one of the Five Kage Summits of the past, an edict was passed to discourage intermarriage between the villages. If a kunoichi wanted to marry a shinobi from a different village, she would have to become a rogue ninja and cut off all her ties from her home village. Her children would have no rights in the village of her birth. And vice versa."_

_Kakashi sat back in his chair. "I agree with your point in allowing intermarriage between the villages; however, I think your proposal for joint citizenship could pose a problem in the future."_

_Kitsuchi frowned at the copy ninja. "You think villages will fight over the children?"_

_"Yes," said Kakashi. "This law may also become a means for villages to steal kekkei genkai from each other. I think this will damage our alliances with each other and cause instability or even war for future generations."_

_Darui scoffed at Kakashi. "You shouldn't be one to talk about stealing kekkei genkai with your transplanted Sharingan."_

_Kakashi nodded. "I merely fear that this law will be abused."_

_"I see no reason to veto this law," said Kitsuchi. "I will support you in this Mei Terumi."_

_"As will I," said Gaara._

_"And I," said Darui._

_Every pair of eyes at and behind the table stared at Kakashi. "In that case, I'll abstain." _

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Naruto wanted to do ramen for lunch for the hundredth time, so Sakura dragged him off for sushi instead. She couldn't have assassins finding his schedule too predictable after all. They ordered the shrimp tempura, salmon rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and rainbow maki. Breaking apart their chopsticks, they dug into their lunch with gusto.

"I'm thinking about going back to work at the hospital," said Sakura without preamble.

Naruto paused with a piece of rainbow maki sushi halfway to his mouth. Putting it back on his plate, he beamed at her. "That's a great idea, Sakura-chan! You're wasted in assigning missions at the Hokage Building. Make Kakashi do some of his own work for once!"

Sakura giggled at him. With a smile, she asked, "So you think it's a good idea then?"

Naruto waved the rainbow maki at her; it almost flew off his chopsticks to hit her in the face. "Of course it's a good idea. You're completely brilliant as a medical ninja. The hospital will be glad to have you. Kakashi'll be able to manage well enough on his own. I'm sure Iruka-sensei or someone can help out when things get too busy."

"We're so understaffed in every department," said Sakura. "I thought war was bad, but I think it's the aftermath that's worse."

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"How are things at ANBU?" wondered Sakura. She was surprised when Naruto didn't answer immediately, only looking down at his sushi unhappily. "Is everything alright, Naruto?"

He sat back and put down his chopsticks. Glancing around the shop, he said, "Everything's fine, I'm just—"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Just what?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. I thought that ANBU was the coolest thing ever and applied. Everyone that I looked up to had been in it: dad, Kakashi, Yamato, Itachi. And when Sasuke got back to Konoha, I thought it would be the best place for him. He's happier than I've ever seen him as an ANBU operative. I wanted to be able to share that with him."

Sakura nodded. Lifting one of the salmon rolls on her chopsticks and dipping it in the wasabi, she said, "You've been in ANBU less than two months, Naruto."

"I know."

"Maybe you'll find that you like it when you've been working at it longer," explained Sakura. "I found working as a medical ninja to be really tough in the beginning. I wanted to give up a lot, but I persevered and here I am today."

"But that's different, Sakura-chan. You wanted to be a medical ninja more than anything else and it suits you better than anything else."

Sakura glanced at her friend. "Does ANBU not suit you?"

Naruto picked up a salmon roll and dipped it in the soy sauce, remarking, "I don't like wearing that mask, Sakura."

"Is it because it's a fox? Does Kurama find it insulting?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's not that at all. The fox mask is super cool. It's the idea of the mask that I don't like. And my captain's a cool lady, but she doesn't want me using any of my cool signature jutsu. Nothing too flashy to reveal my identity, she says."

Sakura laughed. "You don't follow the shinobi rules at all, do you, Naruto."

Naruto winked as he popped a spicy tuna roll in his mouth. "I have my own shinobi rules, Sakura-chan."

Sakura battled his chopsticks for the last spicy tuna roll and won. "So, do you think you want to go back to the regular shinobi forces?"

Naruto went for the shrimp tempura instead. "I don't know. Maybe?"

Sakura looked at her friend. "Maybe?"

Naruto put down his chopsticks and ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair. "My ninja way is to never give up. Am I betraying that if I give up on ANBU?"

Sakura wanted to reach across the table and hug him tightly, he looked so vulnerable. She smiled softly at him. "You're the strongest ninja I know, Naruto. And I believe that you'll make Hokage. But if you want to leave ANBU, I'll completely support your decision. Hiding behind a mask like a faceless shinobi isn't your style, Naruto." She poked his cheek with a chopstick and said, "How can you change the world if no one can see your pretty face?"

He puffed out his cheeks at her in annoyance. "Don't tease me, Sakura-chan."

"What?" she giggled. "It's truth!"

* * *

**Interlude**

_Kakashi rubbed his eyes. This meeting was dragging on. "I agree. Every May 1st will be International Shinobi Day and the major villages will be open to each other for parties and parades. What's up next?"_

_Mei Terumi crossed off another item off her list. Darui glanced at his and said, "The matter of redistributing the bijuu."_

_Naruto tensed behind the Hokage._

_Mei crossed off that item too and sat back in her chair. "We'll have to redistribute them again to restore the balance of power between the major and minor villages."_

_Darui nodded and said, "We should ensure that each village has an equal number of tails. Because Konoha has the Kyuubi, we will assign one and eight to Kumo, two and seven to Suna, three and six to Kiri and four and five to Iwa."_

_Kakashi leaned back in his seat. "My bodyguard, Naruto, would like to join the discussion about the redistribution of the bijuu if that's alright with the other kage at the table."_

_Gaara nodded and said, "That's alright with me."_

_After the other kage nodded their assent, Naruto stepped up to the table and said, "I will have to disagree with your proposal Darui-sama. It is precisely because of the bijuu and the jinchuriki that the ninja world has seen many Shinobi Wars spark out in the first place. I think we should disallow the capture and subjugation of the bijuu." _

_Kitsuchi narrowed his eyes at the blonde man. "That's all well and good, but you'll have to forgive me if I don't take your proposition seriously. How can we allow this law to pass when you who are proposing it possess not only the most powerful of the bijuu but also the only jinchuriki?"_

_Mei Terumi nodded. "The Tsuchikage is right. How can we ensure our village's safety when we are not allowed to create jinchuriki while Konoha threatens us with the most powerful bijuu?"_

_Naruto waved his hands in front of him and said quickly, "I'm not threatening anyone."_

_"Your very presence threatens us," said Kitsuchi. "You are the most powerful shinobi in the world. No village will dare challenge Konoha while you live behind its walls. Creating new jinchuriki is the only way that we can ensure our village's safety."_

_"What does the Raikage have to say on this matter?" asked Kakashi._

_Darui folded his arms behind his head. He glanced backwards at his bodyguard Karui, who was frowning mightily. Her arms were crossed over her chest. "What do you think, Karui?"_

_She blinked in surprise. "Me?"_

_Darui nodded. "If Kumogakure creates another jinchuriki, it'll be one of our children." The other kage glanced at him in surprise. Darui continued, "Do you think we should forbid the creation of jinchuriki?"_

_Karin took a deep breath. "Killer B-sensei and Yugito-sempai were jinchuriki and some of the bravest and the best ninjas that I knew. Kumogakure will be able to reclaim some of its previous might if we reinstitute the jinchuriki program. It would be of increasing importance now that the minor villages are waging a cold war to strip us of our major village status. It's imperative that we create and begin to train new jinchuriki as soon as possible."_

_Darui nodded before turning back to the others. "What she said."_

_Naruto slammed his hands down on the table. "If we create more jinchuriki, the bijuu, the jinchuriki, the villages, and the very ninja world suffer as a result. It would be disrespectful to Gaara, Yugito, Yagura, Roshi, Han, Utakate, Fu, Killer B, and all the ninja who died in any Shinobi War if we reinstitute jinchuriki program. It would show that we learned nothing. This is a chance for us to finally do the right thing."_

_Gaara gazed at Naruto and said, "I agree with Naruto."_

_Kitsuchi huffed in annoyance. "Well I think Konoha and Suna are biased. They shouldn't be allowed to vote."_

_His daughter, Kurotsuchi, nudged him in the shoulder. "Stop being a hardass, father. The others are making a point."_

_Kitsuchi made a mock-sad face at the other kages. "My own darling girl is rebelling against me."_

_Mei Terumi leaned forward demanding, "Say we discontinue the jinchuriki program. What happens to the bijuu? They are too dangerous to be set free."_

_Kitsuchi nodded in agreement. "Isn't that why you became a jinchuriki, Naruto? Your father, Namikaze Minato, was forced to give up his life to seal the Kyuubi into you after it attacked Konoha."_

_Naruto straightened and replied, "Kurama was as much a victim in that as I was. He was being controlled by Uchiha Obito and forced to attack the village. The Kyuubi attack on Konoha seventeen years ago was an Akatsuki attack, not a bijuu attack."_

_Mei Terumi crossed her arms over her chest. "So what happens to the bijuu under your proposal, Naruto? Where do they go?"_

_"They go home. The bijuu were simply summons before we started sealing them into babies. They have relatives and clansmen back in the continent of the summons. That's where they went after the Ten Tails was defeated. Shukaku returned to the raccoon dogs, Matatabi is with the other cat summons, Isobu's with the turtles, Son Goku is with the monkeys, Kokuo to the horses, Saiken to the slugs, Chomei is with the beetles, and Gyuki is with the octopi."_

_Kitsuchi blinked in surprise. "You know all their names?"_

_Naruto nodded. "Yeah. They've introduced themselves to me again when I signed their scrolls."_

_The Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes. "That's very convenient for Konoha. You truly are the Second Coming of the Sage of the Six Paths."_

_Naruto laughed. "I'm just Uzumaki Naruto."_

_"So should Iwa just surrender to you now?" Kitsuchi snapped._

_Naruto looked at the Tsuchikage in surprise. "I'm not going to attack you. I don't know why you all think I will. I thought we all learned to trust each other during the war."_

_"Konoha having control over one bijuu is bad enough," said Darui. "And now we hear that you have control over all the others. You'll have to forgive us if we're a little nervous after what happened during the war, when one of founders of Konoha went mad with power and almost destroyed the entire Shinobi World."_

_Kitsuchi slammed his land on the table. "Let's take a vote then for continuing the jinchuiki program. All in favor?"_

_"Aye," said Darui._

_"Aye," said Mei Terumi._

_"Nay," said Gaara._

_"Nay," said Kakashi._

_"Aye," said Kitsuchi._

_"Well we can't pass the motion when there is dissent among the kage," said Mei Terumi. "I propose that we postpone the vote on this matter until we've had time to give this more thought and discuss it with our advisors. We'll ask Naruto to come back to us with a new proposal in two months' time. I don't wish to delay the vote any longer than that."_

_Kakashi cleared his throat. "I agree with the Mizukage. I will also like to make a motion that outlaws any jinchuriki to be created until we have met again and come to a resolution."_

_Darui nodded. "Alright."_

_Kitsuchi nodded his head. "I will agree to that."_

_Mei Terumi said, "As will I."_

_"And I," said Gaara._

_"And I, of course," said Kakashi._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven **

"Most chess players know, thanks to the study of master games, that two bishops are stronger than two knights or than bishop and knight, though very few know the reason for this advantage and how to turn it to account." - Richard Reti

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

Hinata had been overjoyed that all of her teammates had been accepted into ANBU. She was so pleased for Kiba and Shino. They sat together in a small conference room with the ANBU Commander sitting across the table from them. They had been brought to the conference room by a reverse summoning. The place was windowless, so they could have been anywhere inside or outside of Konoha. A set of three porcelain masks sat on the table in front of him. The ANBU Commander was a man with short brown hair wearing a porcelain cat mask.

"Congratulations, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuga Hinata," he began. Hinata didn't recognize his voice. It may have been someone she knew, but his voice was disguised to keep his identity a secret. "You three have been accepted into ANBU. We have assigned you to your squads and I have selected masks for you. While on duty, you will go by codenames according to these animals on these masks. Your ANBU comrades will know your true identity, but it is imperative that others do not."

"What about our silver flak jackets and the metal arm guards?" wondered Kiba. "Aren't those a standard bit of the ANBU equipment?"

"Yes," the ANBU said. "We have those in our ANBU lounge. A member of your squad will be picking you up at the conclusion of our meeting. They will go into detail about the rest of our ANBU offices, debriefing rooms, armory, lounges and lockers at the end of our meeting. They'll show you around and get you acquainted with your new duties."

All three members of the former Team Kurenai nodded.

"Alright," said Kiba. "We can stop by afterwards to pick the rest of our uniforms up then."

"Yes," said the masked man. "You'll have a better idea of what size is comfortable for you and how many flak vests and arm guards you'll require. It's always good to have spares."

"And the armory?" asked Shino. "ANBU has its own armory?"

"Yes," said commander. "We like for all our members to cultivate some proficiency with kenjutsu, so we have an extensive collection of swords. You can make appointments with our more experienced sword masters to practice your kenjutsu."

"Very good," said Shino.

The ANBU Commander went on, "During your time in ANBU, you will be given a one month probationary period where your Team Captain and other teammates will grade and monitor your progress."

"P-probationary period?" Hinata asked.

"Yes," he continued. "It's standard procedure. A position in ANBU is unlike a position in the normal shinobi forces. We closely monitor our shinobi to ensure that they are all capable, healthy, and happy."

"What happens at the end of the probationary period?"

"If you pass, you will be given the ANBU tattoo and placed on your team permanently. Otherwise, your mind will be wiped of any knowledge you have of ANBU."

"W-wiped?" asked Hinata.

"Yes."

"Is that dangerous?" wondered Kiba.

"It can be, but we have the best in charge of the mind wipes. We have never had any issue with it in the past," said the ANBU Commander. "Nonetheless, when we provide you with your mask, we will have you sign a waiver acknowledging your acceptance of our policy. If you find that you are reconsidering ANBU after learning this, you will be allowed to withdraw your application and you will not have your mind wiped."

"Because we haven't learned anything about ANBU yet? Where you are located and your identities?" asked Kiba.

"That is the policy."

"Yamato-taicho," said Kiba, causing the ANBU Commander to stiffen. "As a member of the Inuzuka clan, I have been able to guess your identity from your smell even with your mask on and your chakra suppressed. You may want to consider having the minds of people who back out at this point wiped as well."

"I will keep that in mind," said the ANBU Commander, taking off his mask. Yamato's face was revealed to the three ninja sitting across the table. "It seems that we haven't accounted for every contingency. There is a genjutsu on the room to disguise smell that works on a Hatake's nose, but it seems the Inuzuka sense of smell is stronger than that."

"It is," said Kiba proudly.

Yamato smiled wryly. "Thank you for being upfront with me about that, Kiba. We haven't had an Inuzuka in ANBU for some time, so we haven't realized that our attempts at disguise are incomplete."

"I'm sorry to put you on the spot like that, Yamato."

"That's alright," said the older man. "I guess this is as good a time as any to present you three with your masks. Kiba, you will have the wolf mask and your codename will be WOLF." Yamato handed the white porcelain mask to him. "Shino, you will have a beetle mask and your codename will be BEETLE." Shino accepted his mask. "Hinata, you will have the dove mask and your codename will be DOVE."

"Thank you, Yamato-taicho," said Hinata accepting the mask.

"Welcome to ANBU."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Yamato sat at his desk in the Hokage Building with Morino Ibiki and Hatake Kakashi. Morino Ibiki was pissed off. Things never went well when Morino Ibiki was pissed off._

_"She won't do it."_

_"What do you mean she won't do it?" asked Yamato. "Why not?"_

_"Shikamaru says that she's sprouting some nonsense about her father's flower shop. She needs to open it up again, so she can't join the Torture and Interrogation unit."_

_Kakashi sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was one unexpected roadblock. "We've all seen this before. Ninjas act in different ways after seeing the horrors of war and Yamanaka Ino's lost more than most. I'm sure after time she'll be back to her normal self and step up to help fill her father's shoes."_

_"We need Ino," repeated Ibiki._

_Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. Looking out the window of Yamato's office, he could see across the way into his own office on the adjacent spiral tower on the top of the Hokage Building. "Yamashiro Aoba has considerable proficiency with mind reading and we have several other shinobi who have cultivated that skill. There are nearly ten Yamanaka ninjas in ANBU or T&I."_

_"None of them have even a fraction of the skill that Yamanaka Inoichi did," countered Ibiki. "Inoichi taught his daughter all his jutsu. He told me once that she'll grow up to be even better at them than he was."_

_"I'm sure we can wait a couple months until Ino's ready to join," said Kakashi._

_Yamato sighed. "I don't know how long we can wait. We're very low on ANBU members. We need to have more join the ranks."_

_"We don't have anyone skilled enough to do the mind wipes," said Ibiki. "If we don't, we might have to suspend the appointment of new ANBU until Yamanaka Ino's ready to do them."_

_"Isn't there anyone else?" asked Kakashi. "I know that Inoichi always did them, but there must be another member of his clan who can."_

_"There's no one else."_

_"We can't put off hiring more ANBU," said Kakashi. "We'll just have to be careful in the meantime and only appoint ninjas that we can trust."_

_Yamato rolled his eyes. "We never intentionally appoint untrustworthy ninjas, but it's dangerous not to have the ability to perform mind wipes at our disposal. We do them very rarely, but each time it's an absolute necessity for the safety of the village."_

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

"Oi, teme, you picking up your new teammate too?" asked Naruto bouncing on the balls of his feet outside one of the ANBU conference rooms. Sasuke was already standing outside the room with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed.

"Obviously," said Sasuke.

"Me too!" said Naruto excitedly. "Can you believe everyone on Team Kurenai is joining ANBU? Who would have thought?"

"Team Kurenai was formed as a tracking team," said Sasuke, "and they're all the heirs to notable shinobi clans. They have the strength and skills for ANBU. Ninjas skilled in tracking can be difficult to find."

Hyuga Tokuma, who was leaning against the other wall said, "Well spoken, Uchiha. Commander Yamato told me that my team will be taking on more of a scouting and tracking role now that the Aburame is going to be added to it."

Naruto smiled thinking about his new teammate. His squad didn't have anyone who was as strong a tracker as Inuzuka Kiba. Even if he decided to turn in his mask and leave ANBU like he had spoken about with Sakura, his team would still be in good shape. Would he be a better Hokage candidate as an ANBU ninja or as a shinobi in the regular forces? Well, he was going to make Hokage one way or the other!

**"You've still got a ways to go, young one," **said Kurama.

_"Hey, I've gotten loads better and people are finally starting to acknowledge me!"_ Naruto countered.

**"I can't deny that,"** agreed the fox.

_"But I won't accept the position until after I've fulfilled my promise to you, Kurama. The injustice the bijuu and jinchuriki suffered must end with my generation. I won't rest until you're free. I'll find a way if it's the last thing I do!"_

**"That's my fear,"** muttered the fox.

"Hn," said Sasuke. "How will we know when they're ready inside?"

Tokuma activated his bloodline. "Yamato's going to give me a signal."

It seemed like it was only yesterday when he and Sasuke had their meeting, with Yamato-taicho sitting at the table trying to scare them. Naruto wasn't sure why he had rambled about that mind wipe thing. His scary face would have done it well enough. Good times. "Do you think any of them are going to back out when they hear about the mind wipe?"

"Dunno," said Sasuke.

"They've come this far," said Tokuma. "I don't think so. Hinata-hime is determined. She's not going to give up that easily."

It was hard to imagine little Hinata-chan so resolute, but she could be strong when she wanted to. Not as brave or strong as his Sakura-chan, but she would do well on Sasuke-teme's team. "Kiba and Shino won't either," agreed Naruto. "Do you think anyone ever does? Is it just a bluff to ensure our loyalty?"

"No, it happens sometimes. We haven't needed to do one in a while, but I watched Yamanaka Inoichi perform one on an ANBU who was forced to leave after his probationary period. He wasn't on my team, but we went on a couple missions together and became close friends."

"Really?" gasped Naruto. "What was it like?"

Tokuma sighed. "I had always known that Yamanaka Inochi was a strong ninja, but I hadn't realized how terrifyingly powerful he was. All of my friend's memories of ANBU were completely removed or modified."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had strived all his life to be accepted by others and to establish his bonds of friendship; it was hard to imagine them being erased just like that. He would have to be sure not piss of Yamanaka Ino, if she could wipe his memories when pissed off. "Are you still friends?" he wondered.

Tokuma looked at the door. "I had to start from scratch. We had met through ANBU, so his every memory of me was taken from him. It was like we were strangers."

"That's horrible," said Naruto. "I'm glad I passed my probation."

"Me too," said Tokuma.

A thought crossed his mind. He didn't plan to spend his whole life as an ANBU. What happened when he wanted to leave? "Er," said Naruto. "What happens after we leave from ANBU? Do we get our minds wiped?"

"You never leave from ANBU," said Tokuma. "You are only decommissioned. In that way you are allowed to retain your memories, but you can be recalled for a mission if necessary. If you want to cut all ties, you have to give up your memories."

"Well I plan to be Hokage, so I'll be in charge of ANBU one day and they won't be allowed to wipe my mind," said Naruto with satisfaction.

"Hn," Sasuke muttered. "What's taking so long?"

Tokuma glanced back at the door, his eyes active. "Yamato's giving the signal, let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve **

"Combinations with a queen sacrifice are among the most striking and memorable ..." - Anatoly Karpov

* * *

**Interlude**

_She hated them so much, but she was powerless to do anything other than obey them. It was only one of the two who visited her tonight. She wasn't sure why they maintained that farce with their masks; she knew their names and faces anyway._

_She glared up at him as he leaned over her. He untied the dragon mask from his face and laid it on the ground next to them. He sat on top of her, straddling her hips. "So I've been hearing that you're thinking about working for T&I."_

_"Who told you that?" she demanded._

_"We have our ways of knowing thing." DRAGON's eyes smiled mysteriously._

_"What do you want?" she snapped at him. "Just tell me what you want me to do and get out of here. I hate looking at your ugly face."_

_He laughed at her, slipping a hand under her shirt. She tensed under him. "That's not a very nice thing to say to me."_

_"Stop that," she hissed. _

_"You asked me what I want," he laughed. "I want you underneath me, screaming my name."_

_"SPIDER says that you're not allowed to do that," began the girl._

_"Fuck SPIDER," he said._

_"If you touch me, I'll scream."_

_"Not if I tell you not to."_

_She spat in his face. "You disgust me."_

_DRAGON chuckled, "That's too bad, because you turn me on."_

_"Just tell me what you want and get out of here."_

_He smoothed a hand up her stomach to her breasts. Taking one in each hand, he caressed them as she went completely rigid, tears dripping from her eyes. "You've been extremely useful to us thus far," he said tweaking her nipple painfully. "But we think you can be even more useful in T&I. We'd like to have as many eyes as we can on the inside."_

_"Get off me," she said. _

_"You will report to us on all the goings on in Ibiki's division."_

_"I'll do it, just get off me."_

_DRAGON released her breasts and rose from her slowly. "It's just a matter of time, girl, and then you'll be mine. Don't forget that."_

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke followed Tokuma and Naruto into the conference room. Yamato stood from his chair and walked to the front of the room. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were standing next to their chairs watching as the three ANBU filtered in.

Like Tokuma and Naruto, Sasuke was wearing his ANBU uniform sans mask. It was standard policy when ANBU members were alone together to remove their masks. Their identities were to be secret from the outside, but not from the inside.

The girl, his new teammate, was holding her porcelain mask tightly in her hands. She was a pretty thing, petite and dark haired, wearing the dark blue fatigues and forest green flak jacket of Konoha. She smiled over at her clansmen Tokuma before fixing her gaze on Naruto.

Like Tokuma, she had the distinctive Byakugan eyes. They were so eerie. He had not gotten used to them, even when working with Tokuma from time to time. Blank and emotionless, Hyuga shinobi looked like blind men and women.

Yamato stood in the front of the room between the six ninjas. "I believe that you all are acquainted with one another. Tokuma, Naruto, and Sasuke have agreed to take you around and show you the ANBU offices. Tokuma?"

"Yes, Yamato-taicho," said the Hyuga man. "Aburame Shino, I will be your new teammate. Let's go."

Shino nodded to the other ninja in the room before following Tokuma out. A small smile flitted across the Hyuga girl's face as Naruto stepped forward and grinned at them. "I'm going to be your new teammate, Kiba. Let's go kick ass!"

Kiba let out a whoop and followed Naruto out of the room. Naruto threw his arm over Kiba's shoulder and the pair walked off laughing and joking with each other. Sasuke quirked his mouth into a grin at their antics. His best friend could be such an idiot sometimes.

Turning his gaze back to the girl, he said, "Hyuga Hinata, let's go."

She took a stumbling step forward and followed him out of the room. It hadn't escaped his notice how her face had fallen when Naruto had called out Kiba's name. Her blank Hyuga eyes had revealed a look of intense disappointment.

She walked behind him on their way upstairs. He could hear Naruto's and Kiba's voices echoing around in the tower as he walked.

"We don't have a good tracker on our team, so we're really glad to have you and Akamaru," said Naruto. "Where's the puppy anyway?"

"He's at home. They said only humans for the debriefing ceremony. Akamaru is being debriefed separately to get him up to speed and give him all his equipment."

"What?" yelled Naruto in shock. "They're going to give Akamaru a mask and ANBU vest too?"

Kiba let out a bark of laughter. "I'm sure they're not going to do that, but they said they have some ninja dog armor for him to try on and they're going to specially fit a ninja dog mask."

"That's so badass, Kiba!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the pair. He couldn't even see them, but they were still so loud. Turning his head towards the Hyuga girl walking behind him, who was listening intently to Naruto and Kiba's conversation, he said, "You don't have to trail behind me like that. I won't bite."

Hinata looked startled. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said falling into step with him. "Yamato-taicho said that you were going to show me around?"

"Yeah," said Sasuke. "The ANBU rooms are all here in the Hokage Building. The ANBU uses the seventh spiral tower for all of its rooms."

"Seventh tower?" wondered Hinata. "I thought that the Hokage building only had six spiral towers."

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, that's what the ANBU wants you to think. The seventh tower is disguised by several layers of genjutsu and the entrance is similarly protected. You need to use a special unsealing jutsu to enter the ANBU tower."

"So we're in that tower right now?" wondered Hinata.

"Yes," said Sasuke. "How's your kenjutsu then?"

"Kenjutsu?" echoed Hinata.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Didn't Yamato debrief you about kenjutsu training? All ANBU are expected to have some proficiency with it by the end of their probationary period."

Hinata nodded, stopping beside Sasuke as he opened the door to a room along the stair. "Here's the armory," he said as a way of introduction.

Unlike the conference room, this room had windows. They were beautiful, wall length windows along the far wall. The panes were stripped at regular intervals for ANBU ninjas to recognize when they were closed and when they were open. Sunlight streamed along the rows and rows of swords, tanto, kunai, senbon, blank sealing scrolls, paper bombs, food pills, smoke bombs, and all manner of weapons.

"Wow," said Hinata.

"Hn," said Sasuke wandering towards the rows of swords.

Hinata walked over to the windows, opening one of them to let the warm summer breeze into the room. It whistled around the metal weapons and caused the sealing scrolls to flap. Her dark hair swirled around her head like ink dropped into a pool of water. "I can see three of the other towers from here!" she gasped out. "The ANBU tower rises from the center of the Hokage building!"

Sasuke pulled out a sword from the rack and tested its balance. "That's right."

"Amazing," said the girl looking out into the village again. Her hair was rioting around her face. It was pretty, but too long to leave down. It would become a distraction for her when fighting.

Sasuke sighed in annoyance. "Come over here," he commanded. Turning back to him, she blinked and closed the window. He held out the sword to her as she stood in front of him, looking up into his face. "Do you own a sword?"

"No," said the girl shaking her head. "I prefer senbon."

Sasuke frowned at her. "Are you going to take the sword?"

"Oh, sorry." She accepted it and then the scabbard from him. "I don't know much about kenjutsu. Yamato said something about having a sword master train me? Do you know-"

"You're looking at him." Her blank Hyuga eyes betrayed disappointment. It was becoming a habit. Frowning at her, he said, "I expect you to work hard. Don't waste my time, Hyuga."

"Right, Sasuke-sempai."

"And you'll want to start wearing your hair in a ponytail. It's going to get in your way otherwise."

The girl smoothed a hand through her dark hair. "Alright."

"Well I think we're done here," said Sasuke. "I'll meet you tomorrow at training field twenty to practice your kenjutsu. Our ANBU team meets at two o'clock every Saturday, Monday, and Thursday at the ANBU lounge. If a mission comes up before then, one of us will inform you."

He held up a hand to do a Shunshin no Jutsu, when Hinata grabbed his arm and called out frantically, "Wait! Yamato-taicho said that you were going to take me to the lounge to pick up the rest of my uniform!"

It was disorienting, her grabbing onto him like that as he was about to cast a jutsu. "You don't have the rest of your uniform yet?" he asked.

Hinata shook her head.

Sighing in annoyance, he said, "Well, come on."

* * *

**Interlude**

_The girl struggled against the man clutching her against his chest. "Just one little taste, SPIDER? It's not like it matters anyway."_

_SPIDER rolled her eyes. "I've told you a hundred times, DRAGON. She's my property; I don't want you messing her up."_

_DRAGON sneered at the other ROOT commander. He slid a hand into the girl's shorts, causing her struggles to intensify. "Come on, SPIDER. I'm helping you out with OPERATION KUNOICHI; I think I deserve a little reward." _

_SPIDER grabbed DRAGON's hand and pulled it out of the girl's shorts. She pushed him away from her. The girl fell to trembling knees. "Don't let me catch you doing that again. She's valuable to me. She's mine; I get to decide who enjoys her pretty little cunt, not you. Got it?"_

_The ROOT commander's motivation wasn't that of a woman trying to prevent another from suffering a horrible fate. It was more like that of a petulant little girl not wanting to share a new toy with her brother._

_"You're just being spiteful," said DRAGON with a pout. "It's no skin off your nose if I have her or not."_

_SPIDER crossed her arms over her chest. "You can do whatever you want with your mark; she's your property. This one's mine and I don't like to share."_

_"Fine," DRAGON spat in annoyance._

_"So new team assignments in ANBU?" _

_"Yeah. She's made it into ANBU and onto the team we wanted her to be on. That should make both my operations easier to arrange."_

_"I'm glad to hear it," said SPIDER. "Now get out of here before I report you to POSSUM. You have one simple task, DRAGON, how is it that you aren't done yet?"_

_DRAGON snorted. "We both know that I can't complete that until OPERATION KUNOICHI is complete. The timing is crucial. If we move too soon or too late, we're liable to lose a piece or two in the confusion."_

_"I'm almost ready. OPERATION BLOODY PINWHEEL is complete and OPERATION SWEET PEA is going on right now."_

_"Too bad VIXEN is turning out to be a disappointment," mused DRAGON._

_"Why don't you go after her if you're so horny? She's completely useless as a ROOT operative. It's embarrassing. I've had to form a contingency plan, OPERATION RUBY THROAT, just to ensure that the mission's parameters are fulfilled."_

_"That's risky," scolded DRAGON _

_SPIDER shook her head. "Every second we delay, we risk discovery or failure. I had no choice."_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"In choosing an opening plan players think most of all of harmonious development for the pieces, but sometimes leave the development of the queen out of their considerations. Yet the Queen is the most valuable and important piece and the whole outcome can depend upon how successfully she plays her role." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

He considered Kakashi's bishop in his hand. The Hokage's trap hadn't gone as planned. Shikamaru had caught on and thwarted it five moves before Kakashi had sprung the trap.

The Hokage pouted. "I thought for sure I'd at least be able to check you."

Shikamaru smirked before moving his queen's bishop. "Your trap was too obvious, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and considered the board, trying to come up with a strategy with his remaining pieces. Shikamaru smiled, saying, "You're going to be checkmated in three moves. The Sharingan's not going to help."

"Damn," muttered the Hokage, using his rook to capture Shikamaru's knight.

"Check," said Shikamaru, moving his queen's bishop to check Kakashi's king. Kakashi stared down at the board, his crimson eye spinning. Shikamaru leaned back in his chair and continued their earlier conversation, "Yes, we've been infiltrated in all levels of all departments most likely. But that doesn't concern me as much as their intentions. Who are these men: POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON? Did Shimura Danzo leave behind instructions in case of his death? Are they operating independently?"

Kakashi frowned at the board. "I'd like to know that myself."

Shikamaru moved his king's bishop and continued, "We don't know how many Root operatives are still out there. From what Sai's told us, Danzo had an army. What happened to them? They didn't participate in Pein's invasion, but did they participate in the Fourth Shinobi War? What sort of casualties did Root sustain? Were their forces as depleted as the regular Konoha shinobi forces?"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair after moving his pawn in some direction or other. He'd lose during Shikamaru's next move anyway. "If past behavior is any indication, I'd bet that Danzo's forces didn't participate in the Shinobi War."

Shikamaru nodded. "I agree. So where are they? Where is this army? It's not in Konoha, we would have noticed. Has root allied with a minor village? Are their forces hiding there? What is going on in the Land of Hot Water?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You think the Root army is in Yugakure?"

Shikamaru moved his king's bishop to checkmate Kakashi's king. "There's a distinct possibility. Something strange is going on in that part of the world."

"You've already sent a team of people we can trust to look into what's going on in Hot Water Country," said Kakashi.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. So if Root is more or less at full strength while our forces are down almost 60%, why are they still using guerilla tactics? Are they afraid of Naruto? Without Naruto, they could probably crush us if their numbers are what I'd anticipate."

Kakashi looked down at the board. "That's why I pressured Naruto to join ANBU. We can keep a closer eye on his teammates in that way. He can't be requested for missions like a regular shinobi can. And I have three other ninjas on his team that I trust completely."

"Root is biding its time. They've infiltrated the other departments because they want something from us that they won't get if they wipe us off the map. But what is it?"

Both players glanced up as Ibiki stormed into the Hokage's office, Yamato close on his heels. The fearsome head of the Torture and Interrogation department halted in front of the desk. Shikamaru turned in his chair with his eyebrows raised. Kakashi glanced up at them in surprise. "Yo, Ibiki, Butsuma!"

"But what?" wondered Shikamaru.

Yamato sent a quick wind jutsu at the still open door and it slammed shut with a loud bang. "I knew I shouldn't have told you my real name."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow as he worked on the genjutsu to keep their conversation private. "That's your real name? Butsuma?"

"That's terrible," commiserated Shikamaru. "I can why you go by Yamato instead."

A mist flowed around the room as the corner of the room and windows were blacked out. There was a residual high pitched whining sound at the edges of the genjutsu to muffle the sound of their conversation even further.

"We've got something good, Kakashi," said Yamato, completing ignoring the peanut gallery.

The Hokage sat back in his chair. "That's good because Shikamaru's beating me senseless in chess. What've you got?"

"Done assigning that one S-Rank mission then, Kakashi?" laughed Ibiki.

"Still working on it," said Kakashi. "This one's a doozy, really difficult to assign. What have you two got for me?

"We've got a Root operative from very high in the organization. His code name is HYENA. He's had contact with DRAGON."

"With DRAGON himself and not just his messenger RAT?"

Ibiki nodded. "He's the first we've captured that's actually interacted with one of the big three."

"How did you catch him?" wondered Shikamaru.

"He's a member of ANBU, on Sai's team," explained Yamato. "He went off script on a mission in the Land of Hot Water. He killed both of his ANBU teammates and was going to kill Sai, but Sai was able to defeat him. Sai reported the situation to me and I did an emergency reverse summoning on the Root operative. Sai's in the Land of Hot Water awaiting further orders. Ibiki has our Root friend in custody down in T&I."

"The Land of Hot Water, eh," muttered Shikamaru to himself.

"What sort of information have you gotten from him?" wondered Kakashi. "What does he know about DRAGON?"

"Not much," grumbled Ibiki. "DRAGON's a sneaky bastard, hiding his tracks. HYENA only saw him wearing a mask and cloaked. There wasn't an inch of skin showing. No revealing attributes that can help us identify the prick."

Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest, taking it all in. "So we're the only ones who know that HYENA's been captured. Root probably thinks the man's still on that mission in Hot Water Country."

"Yes," said Yamato. "No one else knows besides the four of us and a handful of people in T&I."

Shikamaru nodded seriously. "What if we were to release HYENA and trail him? He could lead us back to DRAGON."

Yamato shook his head. "It wouldn't work, Shikamaru. How can we trust that HYENA won't reveal to DRAGON that he's spent time in T&I? He'll probably just slit his own throat when he gets out. We don't have anyone good enough at doing a mind wipe to ensure that your plan will be a success."

"I think it's time we paid your pretty blonde friend a visit, Shikamaru," said Ibiki. "She's been playing hard to get for long enough."

* * *

**Interlude**

'Kami, Shima's bug ramen is disgusting,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he sat at the table with Fukusaku._

**_'Then don't eat it, Naruto,'_**_ said Kurama in his mind._

'I don't want to offend her after she went to so much trouble to make it,'_ replied Naruto._

_The Kyuubi didn't dignify that with a response._

_Naruto sat back at the table and beamed at the little purple haired toad. "Thanks, Shima! Your special bug ramen was really great. Thanks for going to the trouble of making it!"_

_Shima put a hand over her chest and waved a webbed hand at the boy. "I'm glad you liked it Naruto-chan. Now that you've signed all those other summoning scrolls, I'm glad that you still come to visit us!"_

_After the bijuu returned to their homes, they all brought the blonde boy in front of them and asked Naruto to sign their summoning scrolls. Naruto could now summon toads, raccoons, cats, turtles, monkeys, horses, slugs, beetles and octopi. It was pretty awesome._

_Fukusaku put his spoon down and asked the boy, "So have you been to visit any of the bijuu yet in their new homes?"_

_Naruto tapped a finger to his chin. "A couple, yeah. Even though they weren't born as summons, they're still adjusting well to their new homes. I've been to visit Chomei, Isobu, Saiken, Shukaku, Matatabi and Gyūki so far."_

_"The Land of Mangrove Forests, the Land of Shells, the Land of Heaven and the Land of Ink," said Fukusaku in amazement. "You have traveled far, Naruto-chan."_

_"Well it was just lots of reverse summoning, so didn't take too long," shrugged the blonde haired boy._

_"I've never been to the Land of Mangrove Forests," said Shima. "Have you, pa?"_

_Fukusaku shook his head. "I've been to the Land of Shells and the Land of Heaven, but not the Land of Mangrove Forests or the Land of Ink."_

_The little purple haired toad nodded. "What were they like, Naruto?"_

_Naruto threw his arms out wide. "The Mangrove Forest was all damp and hot and crawling with snakes and huge insects. I feel bad, but I'm not in a hurry to go back. The islands and volcanos of the Land of Ink were really pretty, but the water was so deep where the octopi live, that I had to be carried around everywhere. Not too much fun."_

_"I've heard that as well, that the Land of Ink is more water than land," said Fukusaku._

_"The Land of Shells is really pretty. The turtles and slugs get along really well together there. I was neat seeing both of them there."_

_"Yes," said Shima. "Not all Lands are like the Land of Toads with only one type of animal living in it. Many live together in the same Land."_

_Fukusaku nodded. "That is because the toads and the monkeys are the two great animal clans. We have our own lands and customs. The other animal clans live together in the other Lands."_

_"The Land of Heaven is very beautiful," said Shima. "Had you been there before, Naruto-chan? It reminds me a little of the Land of Fire from your continent."_

_"I'd been to the Cat Fortress in the Land of Heaven once before, so it was fun to be back. Matatabi has me for tea and catnip whenever I visit and invites along Shukaku too because he lives so close by with the raccoon dog clan. She keeps in close touch with the other bijuu, so she always has funny updates. They were a little worried about Chomei because they hadn't heard from him, but I said not to worry about it."_

_"How are the bijuu doing? It must be a strange feeling being free after being sealed into a humans for so many generations," said Shima._

_"Matatabi really enjoys being there. She was so grateful that we didn't give her back to Kumo to make another jinchuriki. I warned her that it wasn't official yet until the Five Kage Summit has reconvened, but she says she has faith in me. She misses Yugito like crazy, but she likes being free."_

_Fukusaku nodded at Naruto and said, "Do you think it'll stay that way? What did the kage's say about your proposal?"_

_Naruto scratched his head and smiled uneasily. "Eh, Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa were pretty unhappy about it."_

_Shima sat down at the table with them. "That's not surprising. It was going to be a tough battle to win. What do you think you're going to do, Naruto?"_

_"I don't know," said the blonde boy._

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

"Our prosthetic division has gotten really large. It along with physical therapy takes up most of the first and second floors in the second wing," explained Akio as they walked down the hall in the newly rebuilt Konoha hospital towards a pair of large double doors.

After Pein's attack, the Konoha hospital had been badly damaged. Tsunade had made repairs a priority for the hospital, but there hadn't been time to rebuild until after the war. A second wing had been added to the hospital after the shinobi returned home.

Sakura nodded her pink head as they walked into the large gymnasium. There were about twenty shinobi completing their physical therapy that afternoon. "With all the wounds suffered during the war, I'm not surprised that our prosthetic division has grown so large," said the pink haired medic. "Though it's a shame we couldn't save more of their limbs."

The pretty blonde haired doctor nodded in agreement. "Some of the wounds were so severe that the limbs had to be removed."

Sakura nodded. Watching a man attempting to grip something with his prosthetic arm, she had a vision of an old woman from long ago who had made considerable use out of her impediment. "Have we worked with these ninja to help develop their chakra string techniques? In Suna, ninja with prosthetics have taken advantage of that handicap to enhance their puppet master jutsu."

Akio raised her eyebrows. "That's a wonderful idea. I'll speak with the department head about that. I'm sure the ninjas who lost limbs during the war will be grateful for the hope that'll give them. Many of them are disheartened that they'll never be as strong as they once were."

Sakura smiled and followed the curly blonde haired woman out the door. Akio continued, "We're going to have you start your rotation in the internal medicine department on the fourth floor. We can stop upstairs in the OB/GYN department on our way up."

As they made their way upstairs and passed the waiting room, a dark haired woman stood up and said, "Akio-san, the nurse at the front desk said that you wouldn't be available until four. Are you in early?"

Akio gestured to Sakura and said, "Good afternoon, Kimiko. I'm showing our newest medical ninja around the hospital. Would you mind waiting just a little longer? I should be down in a about an hour or so."

The academy teacher looked disappointed. "I'll have to come back tomorrow then. I can't wait another hour."

"I'm sorry, Kimiko," said the curly blonde haired doctor. "We're very short staffed right now."

Sakura turned to the doctor and said, "I don't mind you having a quick check-up with Kimiko. I can sit in the room and observe if that's alright. I'd like to learn more about the department."

"It'll be really quick," said Kimiko, "I only need to get that prescription refilled."

Akio raised her eyebrows in understanding. "Oh, I'm sorry that I forgot. Come with me girls, I think exam room four should be open."

Sakura and Kimiko followed behind Akio on the way down the hallway to the examination room. The blonde haired woman held the door open and the three filed inside. The academy teacher jumped up onto the exam table that had been dressed with paper and Sakura went to sit in the chair by the side.

"No strange reactions to the potion then?" asked Akio.

Kimiko shook her head. "No it's working fine. No complaints here. I'm just running a little low. I wanted to refill my prescription. I meant to come last week but I got sent away on a mission last minute and forgot."

Akio picked up her prescription pad and jotted down a note. Tearing off the paper, she handed it to the academy teacher. "There you go. That should be good for another three months. And you know how the cycling works?"

"Yes," said Kimiko, accepting the prescription.

Akio grinned at the younger woman. "So how did that date you were telling me about go last week?"

Kimiko sighed unhappily, "We keep having to reschedule. For some reason, Hokage-sama keeps calling Yamato or I away on missions."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "I thought I recognized you. You're Kimiko from the academy. I think my friend Yamanaka Ino subbed for your class last week."

The pretty dark haired girl beamed. "That's right! Ino-chan is a darling. It was so nice of her to take over my class and Choji's class while we were on that mission. I hope it wasn't too taxing for her."

"I think it solidified in her mind that she doesn't want to be a teacher," Sakura laughed.

Kimiko's eyes twinkled. She hopped off the examination table and said, "Thanks again, Akio. Hopefully I'll be able to take full advantage of the birth control potion on my date with Yamato next week."

Akio laughed and said, "Good for you."

The academy teacher grinned and waved at the two medical ninjas before slipping out of the room. Akio went to sit down next to Sakura. "Kimiko's such a nice girl. I hope her date works out."

Sakura grinned. "Me too. I hope Kakashi'll quit playing that trick on Yamato and let the poor man go on his date."

Akio grinned. "Now that we're here, I suppose I can ask you if you'd like me to fill out any birth control prescriptions for you. Have you already discussed that with your attending physician?"

Sakura blushed crimson. "Oh, I'm not sexually active."

Akio looked surprised. "A pretty girl like you? And at your age? I thought you and Uzumaki Naruto were dating."

Sakura shook her head. "No, we're just friends."

Akio continued to look surprised. "Really? I can tell that he likes you a lot. If you're not sure, you might want to be careful. There are a lot of other kunoichi who are just waiting to jump in and steal him away from you. He's quite a prize, you know."

"He's a person, not a prize," mumbled Sakura.

Akio smirked. "And with his stamina, imagine what he'd be like in the bedroom."

Sakura blushed an even brighter crimson. "I-I-"

Akio scribbled down the same prescription and tore of the page, handing it to Sakura. "Well if you change your mind, here's the birth control prescription, just in case. The worst thing a kunoichi can do is have an unplanned pregnancy. Trust me. I see a lot of kunoichi come in with unplanned pregnancies who then have to give up being ninjas. I don't want that to happen to you, Sakura."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what Chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other better ideas." - Stanley Kubrick

* * *

**Interlude**

_He thought it a strange request, but Sasuke would move mountains if it was his brother's will. A simple bouquet of flowers to lay at the Memorial Stone was no skin off his back. He wondered why Itachi didn't just ask him to drop the flowers off at someone's house. Maybe the person was dead or Itachi didn't know where they lived anymore._

_"Everything I did was for you and for Konoha; my clan and myself came last. Though in the end, I was selfish. I gave someone a share in our clan's struggle. A burden this person should never have had to bear." Those had been Itachi's words. Sasuke was intrigued by this person Itachi had shared his troubles with. He hoped to meet the man or woman. Was it a friend? Was it a lover?_

_There weren't as many flower shops in town now. So much had been destroyed during Pein's invasion and many shops and houses had yet to be rebuilt. But Sasuke knew that his classmate Yamanaka Ino had a flower shop because Sakura talked about going over to visit all the time. So it was as good a place as any to pick up Itachi's flowers._

_He went over in the morning before he had to report to the Hokage Building for another of his psych evaluations. The sign on the door read OPEN, but there was no one around when he walked in. He took out the small piece of paper from his pocket where he had written down the flowers and looked around the shop. What the hell was hibiscus?_

_The door to the backroom was open. He didn't want to be too late for his meeting with the Torture and Interrogation department. Mitarashi Anko was in charge of his psych evaluation and he didn't like to think what she would do when pissed off. It was ironic that a person with equally questionable sanity was administering his test. Though, he couldn't complain about it to Kakashi. Sasuke suspected that Anko and the Hokage were lovers. Kakashi would find it amusing and tell Anko. Then Sasuke would find himself in real trouble. _

_He went into the backroom hoping to find Ino. He wandered around the many funeral arrangements lined up around the room with names of different ninja who had died in the war. There was a noise from off to the side._

_Great, it was the sound of throwing up. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke wandered over. He hoped that she was still hungover from the previous night's drinking binge rather than sick with the stomach flu. He didn't fancy catching anything. Her throwing up was intermingled with sobs._

_"Ino?" called out Sasuke. "It's Uchiha Sasuke. I have a flower order. I'm leaving it at the front desk. I'll expect to pick it up this afternoon around four."_

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

After the very strange meeting with Sasuke and the village elders, Kakashi sent a note down to the Cryptanalysis Division for them to investigate the matter. The resulting analysis came back to the Hokage Building surprisingly quickly. Apparently Koharu, with her love of arranged marriages and ruining other people's lives, hadn't added illegitimate children to her tally.

It seemed that Uchiha men couldn't get enough of Yamanaka women. Many Uchiha men had taken Yamanaka women as lovers as there were several examples of Uchiha men later inheriting these children after they awoken their Sharingans and showed great skill or talent.

This increased the tally and "success rate" – as Koharu called it – immensely. It seemed that these Uchiha/Yamanaka children were actually inflating the Hyuga clan numbers. Many of the Uchiha/Hyuga marriages had been arranged and the Uchiha men took Yamanaka woman as lovers. When there were no children from these arranged marriages, the Uchiha/Yamanaka children with the Sharingan were legitimized.

Kakashi made the mistake of forgetting to command the Cryptanalysis Division not to share their results with the Konoha Village council. He wasn't sure what Koharu would do with this new information. She really was spiraling out of control.

So here he was again in this same strange situation. Instead of the doors to his office slamming open with a bang as was Uchiha Sasuke's modus operandi, there was merely a polite knock on the door. Yamanaka Ino opened the door and smiled at him. She was wearing a loose yakama. It was nice of her to dress so formally for a meeting with him. Strange, but nice. He supposed that she had to figure out other things to wear because she had stopped wearing her kuniochi outfits. Anko would probably dismember him if he admitted it, but he missed that purple midriff bearing, short skirted ensemble.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-sama. Sakura said that you wanted to speak with me. She also wanted me to ask you how you were doing with assigning that S-Ranked mission."

"Still working on that," said Kakashi, standing up from his chair and walked towards the girl. This was going to be really awkward. "The council wishes to speak with you."

Ino blinked in surprise, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "What about?"

Everyone seemed to have that reaction when he said those dreaded words. "They would like to ask your help on a very serious matter. We'll discuss it further when we get to the Council room. I would just like to say that I don't agree with their proposal and I will not force you to take it on if you don't want to. It's completely voluntary."

Ino laughed bitterly as she walked beside Kakashi up the flight of stairs to the Council room. "You're making me nervous, Kakashi-sensei."

He winked at her. "We can't have that, can we?"

"I thought that this would be about T&I again," she remarked. "I almost wish it was that instead."

"You would be a great asset for the department. You really should consider it, Ino. We have resources available to help shinobi dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You're well in your rights to utilize them."

"I'll think about it," Ino replied simply.

They finally reached the room and Ino walked in after Kakashi. She bowed to Koharu and Homaru and sat next to Kakashi on the couch across from the council members. "Thank you for seeing me today, Koharu-sama, Homaru-sama," she said.

She glanced around the room, which had filled up with even more beautiful flowers since Kakashi had been there last time. There was now a veritable forest of red roses in vases on the right side of the room. There was an _actual_ forest by the window of cherry trees and lemon trees. What the hell was Koharu up to?

"The flower arrangements are very beautiful, Koharu-sama," said Ino. "And so romantic, who are they from?"

"Admirers," said the councilwoman. "The lemon tree just came from the Land of Tea yesterday."

"It's quite lovely," said Ino.

Koharu nodded regally before lifting a scroll from the side table and holding it in her hands. "We have a mission for you. It's of the upmost importance to Konoha. It's crucial that you work towards its successful completion."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I'd like to mention again that this is completely voluntary. I have no intention of forcing Ino to do this if she doesn't want to. She's perfectly within her rights to refuse this mission."

"There will be consequences of that, naturally," said Koharu.

"There will be no consequences," said Kakashi raising his voice. Turning to Ino, he said, "You will not be punished if you refuse this mission."

Koharu stood up and offered the scroll to Ino. Ino stood up gracefully to face the Council woman. She didn't yet accept the scroll. Koharu cleared her throat and said, "The Uchiha clan is in terrible danger of falling into extinction. We're afraid that Uchiha Sasuke is not taking his responsibility as the last Uchiha seriously. Your mission is to seduce Sasuke and bear his child."

Ino gaped at the old woman. "You want me to have Uchiha Sasuke's baby?"

"Yes," said Koharu.

"Why me?" wondered Ino.

Koharu narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "I wish a whore-ish burnout like you didn't have to be the hope for the resurrection of the Uchiha clan, but everyone else is busy and Yamanaka clan women have shown some talent for spreading their legs for Uchiha men and popping out children with the Sharingan."

"I see," said Ino reaching slowly towards the scroll. Koharu's wrinkled face broke out into a smug smile. At the last minute, Ino moved her hand in a blur and dealt the council woman a stinging slap across the face. There was such momentum and rage in the Yamanaka girl's swing that the elderly council woman was thrown off her feet and onto the couch. Homaru was able to move out of the way just in time to avoid being bowled over by Koharu's backward falling body.

"That's my answer, you old hag," spat Ino before spinning on her heel and stalking out of the office.

Kakashi was glad of his mask; it hid his wide grin. Good for her.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke wandered into Yamanaka flowers that evening to pick up his order. Sakura and Ino were sitting together giggling at the front desk. Great. Ino must have run straight to Sakura after seeing Sasuke's note._

_"Wild night?" asked Sasuke when he reached them. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Ino looked uncomfortable. Sasuke continued, "When I got here this morning, Ino was throwing up in the bathroom. Were you still drunk from last night?"_

_Sakura turned to Ino in concern. "You were drinking last night? I thought you were going to bed early because you were tired. Were you drinking alone? That's…"_

_Ino waved her hand at Sakura before leveling a glare at Sasuke. "It doesn't matter, just drop it."_

_Sakura frowned at her friend. Turning to Sasuke with a sly smile, she asked, "So who's the lucky girl that the flowers are for, Sasuke?"_

_Ino grinned at him and took out the bouquet from under the desk. It was a beautiful arrangement of white gardenias and lilies, yellow roses and hibiscus, and blue forget-me-nots and bluebells. "I didn't really understand what sort of message you were going for."_

_"They're flowers," said Sasuke with a shrug. _

_"All the flowers you selected have meaning. They can be arranged in different ways to offer a message. I didn't realize that you knew about the language of flowers."_

_"I don't," said Sasuke. "My brother asked me to put a bouquet with these flowers at the Memorial Stone."_

_Sakura smiled. "So they're not for a girl."_

_Shrugging, Sasuke continued, "My brother wanted me to put them at the Stone for someone."_

_"Did Itachi say who they were for?" wondered Sakura._

_"No, he didn't say if it was for a man or a woman or if it is for someone who's alive or dead. I guess if they're still alive he's hoping that that person will see them."_

_"That's sort of romantic," Sakura sighed. "Maybe there was a girl he regretted leaving behind in Konoha and went to his grave before professing his love for her."_

_"Dunno," said Sasuke._

_Sakura paused for a second. "I wonder if they're for Kakashi- sensei."_

_Sasuke glared. "What the hell's wrong with you? What makes you think my brother would proclaim his love for Kakashi?"_

_Sakura shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "He might not be proclaiming his love. Maybe he's apologizing to Kakashi for something. Kakashi's out there like every day. He's the only person that I could think of around Konoha that's more of less guaranteed to see the flowers. Even if he was on a mission for a couple days."_

_"Hm," mused Sasuke. He turned to Ino. "You said something about the language of flowers. What do the flowers say?"_

_Ino, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the exchange, nodded. She slipped her fingers through the flowers, her blue eyes somber. "I don't know if it's a message, but I can tell you what the different flowers represent. The bluebells represent being grateful for something; the plumeria represents new beginnings. The forget-me-nots, yellow hibiscus and gardemia are all speaking of love and romance: a true love, a rare beauty, a secret love. The white calla lily can mean purity or motherhood. The yellow rose is hard to define. Here I think it means an apology or a broken heart." _


	15. Chapter 15

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen **

"I started by just sitting by the chessboard exploring things. I didn't even have books at first, and I just played by myself. I learnt a lot from that, and I feel that it is a big reason why I now have a good intuitive understanding of chess." - Magnus Carlsen

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

The little pink potion was in her pocket. She had blushed like crazy when she went to the pharmacy to get it filled before she left the hospital for the day. She wasn't sure if she was ready to sleep with Naruto, but it would be good to be ready for it just in case. Besides, birth control wasn't just to help prevent pregnancy. It had other uses as well.

She watched as Ino stormed around the shop, dropping flowers in vases and slamming down pots.

"Er, Ino, the flowers are really delicate. You might want to be more careful," warned Sakura.

Ino turned to glare at her, holding a potted hyacinth. For a moment, Sakura worried that her blonde friend was going to throw it at her. "I know that!" she snapped.

"Everything alright?" wondered Sakura.

"It's just those Konoha Council members. They're so insensitive."

"Er, right?" said Sakura. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" Ino yelled.

Sakura flinched, her eyes widening in surprise. Ino seemed to deflate at seeing the expression on her friend's face. The blonde girl wandered over and leaned against the counter and said, "I'm sorry, Sakura. It's been a really weird day."

"That's alright."

"So how was your first day?" asked Ino with a grin. "How do you like being back at the hospital?"

Sakura sighed happily. "It's wonderful. I should have gone back months ago. I'm starting my rotation in the internal medicine department. It's really nice seeing patients and helping people again."

"That's great, Sakura!" said Ino. "I haven't been to the hospital in a while. What's that new wing look like?"

"It's beautiful," said the pink haired medic. "The prosthetic and physical therapy department is all new and shiny. Akio took me through it on my tour of the place. Do you remember that Suna kunoichi Chiyo? She's the one that I fought with when we went to rescue the Kazekage from the Akatsuki."

Ino's eyes narrowed when she heard the words Suna kunoichi, but she eventually nodded. "That old lady you told me about? She sounded really strong. I hope I'm that badass when I'm an old crone."

"Somehow I have trouble imagining you as an old crone, Ino," Sakura laughed. "You'll probably use Tsunade-hime's jutsu when you get older to look young and beautiful forever."

Ino grinned. "Maybe."

Sakura continued, "Well she was a really talented puppet master. She had lost her right arm in battle a long time ago and outfitted it her prosthetic with all kinds of handy things to use with her puppet jutsu. I suggested to Akio that we have our physical therapy department help our ninjas with prosthetics learn to do that same thing."

Ino's eyes widened. "That's brilliant, Sakura! Thank Kami that you're back at the hospital. You were wasted at the Hokage Building."

Sakura smiled and said, "Naruto said the same thing."

Ino wiggled her eyebrows at Sakura. "Naruto, eh? How's our blonde friend doing?"

Sakura blushed. "Why does everyone tease me so much about him? We're not dating!"

"Everyone?" Ino grinned. "Who else is teasing you?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Akio was teasing me too."

Ino's eyes widened. "Akio from the hospital was? What did she say?"

Sakura blushed a brighter red and took out the potion from her pocket. "Akio was shocked that I wasn't sleeping with Naruto and gave me a prescription for birth control. Can you believe her? Doesn't that defy the Hippocratic Oath or something?"

Ino stared at the little vial in Sakura's hands with the pink potion. "And you filled the prescription?"

Sakura looked down at her hands and mumbled, "Akio said something about unplanned pregnancies being the worst thing a kunoichi could do to herself, so I figured better safe than sorry."

Sakura missed the shadow that passed in front of Ino's eyes. When she glanced back up at her blonde friend, Ino was looking at her curiously. "If you're not ready to have sex, you shouldn't feel pressured by something that woman said to you. I can't believe the woman's audacity, handing you a birth control prescription like that!"

Sakura turned the pink potion over in her hand. "I'm sure she was just looking out for me. She works as an OB/GYN. She's probably seen a lot of unplanned pregnancies and doesn't want the same thing to happen to me."

"Yeah, I guess," said Ino. She nodded down at the pink potion in Sakura's hand. "I was on that one for a little while and didn't like it. It had some weird side effects. I've got something better. Let me go get it for you."

Sakura stared down at the pink potion in her hand, feeling very foolish. When Ino returned, she had a small piece of paper. She slapped it on the table. "It's a seal that basically does the same thing. It regulates your hormone production. It glows bright red to warn you when you're ovulating."

Sakura picked up the seal and said, "I've never seen this before. Where'd you get it?"

Ino leaned against the counter. "Shikamaru made it for me. He's going through a Fūinjutsu kick right now. I've put it on my hip."

Sakura watched as Ino showed the little black seal that she had placed on her right hip. It was black. "Shikamaru made it for you?"

Ino nodded, accepting the pink potion from Sakura. She dropped it in her pocket. "Yeah. He says that he's taken a personal interest in my menstrual cycle. He's such a busybody sometimes."

Sakura blushed crimson. "So what's it like?"

"It doesn't sting or anything. You just put the paper where you want to place the seal and apply a little chakra. Voila!"

Sakura's blush was intensifying. "Not the seal," she hissed. "S-s-sex. What's it like?"

"When you're with someone you love, it's the best thing in the world."

"Does it hurt? Your first time?" wondered Sakura.

Ino grinned. "I thought you weren't dating Naruto, Sakura."

* * *

**Interlude**

_"Hey, Sakura-chan, guess what?"_

_"What?" said Sakura bowing to Ichiraku Teuchi before starting on her ramen._

_"Kakashi-sensei's asked me to be the ambassador for Konoha to the other ninja villages. Isn't that awesome? He says that it'll help me to enhance my reputation among the other villages so they'll be sure to support me when I become Hokage."_

_"That's wonderful news," said Ayame and Teuchi beaming at their favorite customer. "This one's on the house, Naruto!"_

_"Dobe," said Sasuke from his seat next to Naruto. He put his chopsticks into his shrimp ramen turned to his friend. Resting his elbow on the counter, he leaned towards Naruto and scoffed, "Kakashi appointed you because he's too lazy to do it himself."_

_"Shut, up Sasuke-teme. That's not true."_

_"I'm afraid it is, Naruto," said Sakura. _

_Naruto's face fell even as Ayame placed another bowl of pork ramen in front of him. "Even you, Sakura-chan?"_

_"Don't be so hard on Naruto, Sakura," said Teuchi coldly. "I'm sure that Kakashi-sama gave the job to Naruto to help him become Hokage."_

_Sakura put down her chopsticks and waved her hands in the air with an uneasy smile. The glares of the normally jovial Teuchi and Ayame were frightening. "All I meant was that Naruto doesn't need to enhance his reputation among the other villages. The whole world speaks of you as the Second Coming of the Sage of the Sixth Paths. It'll be uncontested when you assume the mantle of Hokage when you're older."_

_"Do you really think so?" wondered Naruto_

_"Not if I can help it," muttered Sasuke._

_Naruto threw his chopsticks at Sasuke's face. "Sasuke-teme, I wish you would quit with that terrible joke of yours about wanting to be Hokage!"_

_Ayame giggled and put another pair of chopsticks down in front of Naruto. She grinned at him and said, "Everyone in the village can't wait for you to be Hokage when you're old enough. Just think, in a couple years your face will be carved next to Kakashi-sama's on that mountain."_

_Naruto muttered to himself petulantly, "I still don't see why I wasn't appointed Hokage off the bat. I'm not too young. Gaara was made Hokage when he was even younger than me."_

_"Neh," said Sasuke. "That's because Suna is pathetic. They didn't have anyone else even remotely qualified. It's pitiful that they had to appoint some kid as their Hokage."_

_"Er, I'm sure that wasn't the reason," said Naruto awkwardly._

_Sakura smiled uncomfortably. "See Naruto, this is why Kakashi appointed you and not Sasuke as the ambassador for Konoha."_

_Teuchi laughed uproariously at her remark. Winking at Naruto, he said, "And as ambassador you're able to visit the other villages to see all the friends that you made during the war."_

_Naruto scratched his head, starting to feel a little better. "I guess you're right."_

_Teuchi placed another bowl of ramen in front of Naruto. "Eat up, Naruto." _

_"You're the best, Ichiraku-san!"_

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru ducked as Naruto threw the heavy book at his head. "Jeez, Naruto, I'm trying to help."

Naruto pulled at his hair. "I don't understand this at all!"

Shikamaru sighed and sat down next to his friend. He picked up another one of the three pronged kunai and slammed it into the table. The point buried deep into the wood. "The theory is very similar to that of summoning contracts…" began the Nara genius.

"I got that part already," said Naruto impatiently.

Shikamaru nodded. "But with a summoning contract, to summon something you need to provide a sacrifice, that's why you need a drop of your blood."

"Yeah," said Naruto. "I understand that too. The blood from the sacrifice is the same as the blood on the contract scroll I signed, so that's why I can summon toads and stuff."

"Show me," commanded Shikamaru. "Summon something."

Naruto bit his thumb and slammed it down on the table. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was a large puff of smoke and then an orange toad with a blue vest appeared on the table. "What's up, boss?" asked Gamakichi.

"Just demonstrating a point," said Naruto.

Gamakichi hopped off the table creaking under his weight and crouched in the corner. "Whatca doing?"

"I'm trying to teach this idiot the Hiraishin no Jutsu," said Shikamaru.

Gamakichi laughed, "Good luck."

"Hey!"

Shikamaru put a hand to his forehead. "Okay, so your blood is the anchor when you're using the summoning jutsu right? That's what connects Gamakichi to this spot and you to the toads if they do a reverse summoning."

"Yeah," said Naruto. "But how does that relate to the Hirashin? What's with kunai? I don't understand."

"The summoning technique is a time and space ninjutsu that uses blood as the anchor between two different places. Because you signed their contact with your blood, you can use your blood to summon them to you and they can reverse summon you by calling on the blood in your body."

"Oh, neat," said Gamakichi. "Now I understand how reverse summoning work."

Naruto looked less sure. "But then how can toads reverse summon each other?"

"Same idea, blood. If they're the same species or if they sign another animal's contracts they can summon each other. Like species can summon their clansmen because their genetic material is similar enough that - just forget about that," said Shikamaru noticing Naruto's confused expression. "Back to the Hirashin, Okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Okay. So the Hirashin…"

Shikamaru pulled out a handful of the three pronged kunai from his kunai holster and threw then around the room to stick into the walls. "The Hirashin takes that concept and then builds on it. With summoning techniques, blood is the anchor, so that limits the scope."

Gamakichi raised his webbed hand. "But if you took some of Naruto's blood, could you summon me too?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "I suppose that should work in theory."

The toad nodded. "I'm just asking because I've always wondered how Naruto was able to use his blood and the kyuubi's chakra to summon us."

Naruto scratched his head again. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Shikamaru waved his hand, dismissing the toad's question. "That's an interesting thought, Gamakichi, but we're just confusing Naruto. Let's get back to Hirashin."

"Right," said Gamakichi.

"So blood limits the scope of where people and places can be summoned," said Shikamaru, "because you need to be there to summon something with your blood. But with the Hirashin, it uses this special seal instead of blood as the anchor between time and space jumps."

"Oh," said Naruto. "That makes sense. I get it now."

Shikamaru quirked a half smile. He pointed at Gamakichi and said, "So Naruto, if you want to move about the room with the summoning technique, Gamakichi can summon you to where he's standing or you can summon him to where you're standing. Right?"

Naruto paused in thought. He bit his thumb again – the cut had already healed – and summoned Gamakichi over to himself. The toad laughed and they high fived. "I get it!" said Naruto excitedly.

Shikamaru nodded and continued, "But with the Hirashin, you're not just limited to that. If you use the Hirashin, you can move to anywhere that is marked with the Hirashin sealing formula. You can move onto the table where that kunai is," said Shikamaru flashing out of existence and reappearing on the table. "Or you can go to where I threw the kunai on the wall." The Nara genius blinked out of existence again and reappeared where there was a kunai on the wall near Naruto and Gamakichi.

"Awesome!" said Naruto. He concentrated his chakra and focused hard on the seal on the table. "Hirashin no Jutsu." He reappeared in a yellow flash on the table. "Awesome!" he repeated.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen **

"You must not let your opponent know how you feel." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Interlude**

_He was so still. She still couldn't believe that he was dead. The smile on his face was so peaceful. His hated cursed seal was gone too. She cried when she saw his unmarked forehead. She could pretend he was still alive while the mark was still there._

_Her father put a hand on her shoulder. "I should have been me," he said. "I'll never forgive myself for letting him die like that. I couldn't save my brother and I couldn't save his son. He was more than my nephew; he was like a son to me."_

_"Don't say that, father," she said sadly. "It was my fault. I should have been stronger. He shouldn't have had to give his life for me like that. I—"_

_Hiashi squeezed her shoulder. "You're very strong, Hinata. I'm very proud of the kunoichi that you've become. Neji would be proud of you too. You must live for the both of you now. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain."_

_Hinata stretched out across Neji's chest weeping. His blood was staining her flak jacket. How could this have happened?_

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

She was restless. After she had settled down into the room the Kiri ninjas had provided for her and Sasuke, she had been unable to sleep. Part of it was the excitement of tomorrow's mission. Part of it was the days that she had been spending with her team as they traveled to Kiri.

It was strange. She would eventually get accustomed the full ANBU gear, but it was disorienting at first, the sleeveless black turtlenecks, silver flak vests and animal masks serving to protect their identities. She still hadn't taken off her mask; she hadn't been allowed to.

She wasn't sure what to think about the mask. It offered some comfort for her. It was nice to have something to hide behind; she felt so naked in the tight fitting clothes provided to her for ANBU kunoichi.

Her ANBU captain had given her a lazy perusal upon meeting her. "Very nice," he said.

She didn't like him all that much.

Kiri was beautiful at night. The mist seemed to roll back, allowing an unobstructed view of the myriad of twinkling stars. Large rock pillars in the sea towered menacing in the distance.

They were staying in small dormitories within the Mizukage's Main Building. The white brick building looked ethereal in the moonlight. It was inland a ways, with small manmade canals nearby which led from the center of town out to sea. The sound of the water lapping against the shore was very peaceful. There were only a few people wandering around at this wee hour of the night. The privacy would also allow her some time to think things over.

She sat on the edge of the dock, enjoying the sound of the water gurgling around the wooden poles supporting the dock. A shadow fell over her. "Trouble sleeping?" asked the man in the HAWK mask. She couldn't see his face, but she knew who it was from his spiky dark hair.

"Yeah," she said.

He sat down beside her with a heavy sigh. "I can't believe that I'm saying this, but if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. ANBU is tricky getting used to. I had to deal with the same stuff you are dealing with now and my captain at the time, Kenta, was a great help."

She turned her masked head to him. How she wished that she could see the expression in his eyes. "It's the hiding behind the masks. I'm having so much trouble telling what anyone is thinking."

He reached for her, untying the mask from the back of her head. He slid it off her face.

She hissed in surprise, "What are you doing? We're not supposed to…"

He put a finger to her lips and took off his own mask. "I don't like the masks either," he said, revealing his dark eyes and pale face to her.

She glanced around the dock, hoping that Captain Shinju wasn't going to jump out from behind a boat and say that she was fired and going to have her mind wiped.

"There's no one else here," he said as if reading her thoughts. "You don't need to worry."

She tensed next to him and said uncertainly, "I don't know, HAWK. Is this a test?"

He lay down on the dock on his back and looked up at the stars. "No test."

She picked up her mask and put it back on before lying down next to him. "It's a beautiful night isn't it?" she whispered reverently. "Kiri is like nothing I've ever seen. You must have visited some really beautiful places when you were a rogue ninja."

He folded his hands on stomach and grunted in reply.

She let out a little sigh. "ANBU isn't what I expected. Are all the teams this….disjointed?"

He let out a sigh next to her. "This is the only team that I've been on. So I know about as much as you."

"Hm," she mused. It was close and hot behind the mask. She missed the cool breeze of the ocean air when Sasuke had taken off her mask. The cool air had tickled her cheeks before she hid them behind a mask again.

"So why'd you join ANBU anyway? You don't seem like the type who would do well as an ANBU operative."

"I made a promise to myself that I would be stronger so that I could protect myself. I don't want anyone to have to die to protect me ever again."

He cocked his head to the side, his dark eyes taking her in. "Who was the first one then? Who was the person that had to die to protect you?"

Her eyes burned with unshed tears behind her dove mask. "My cousin Neji. He died during the war protecting me from the juubi."

He turned back to look at the sky. "That's a shame. I hoped that I would have a chance to spar with him when I returned to Konoha. He was a great ninja."

"A great ninja and a great man," Hinata corrected.

"Hn," said Sasuke.

"ANBU was Neji's dream. Before the war, he was training to join. He was scheduled to take the examinations, but they had to be postponed because of the war."

"So you're following his dream and not your own dream?" noted Sasuke.

Hinata looked down at her hands. "I had other reasons for joining."

"Hn." Sasuke sat up made a hand sign. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I'm heading back to bed then. Don't stay out too late, DOVE. We have a mission tomorrow."

He was gone in a swirl of mist.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Hinata had been discharged from the medical tent. She kept a silent vigil by Neji's side. His teammates Rock Lee and Might Gai had wept piteously next to Neji's body. TenTen was still in the medical tent. She had suffered extreme chakra exhaustion from using the ninja tools left on the battlefield by the Golden and Silver brothers from Kumo._

_"We were like a family," said Lee. "TenTen and I are both orphans, Neji was like our cool older brother."_

_"Lee!" wept Gai._

_"Gai-sensei!" wept Lee._

_Hinata smiled fondly at the both of them. "Neji will be put to rest in the Hyuga compound with our clan. You can visit as often as you'd like. You are like family to me too."_

_Lee grabbed her and hugged her tightly to his chest. She could feel her ribs creaking in protest. "You are so good to us, Hinata-chan. The flames of youth burn brightly within you!"_

_Hinata giggled and hugged Lee back. "Thanks, Lee."_

_Lee let her go and looked at her pleadingly. "I have no right to ask this of you, Hinata-chan. As your cousin, it is your right to bring his body back with you to Konoha."_

_Hinata smiled sadly at Rock Lee. "You want to bring his body home?"_

_Lee nodded frantically. "Please, Hinata-chan, let Team Gai bring Neji's body home!"_

_Hinata looked down at Neji. This was something that she could do for his teammates. As much as he used to roll his eyes at Lee and Gai, he did love them like brothers. She didn't want to be robbed of the honor, but Lee and TenTen needed this more than she did. "Alright."_

_Lee and Gai wept again, clutching her between them, they yelled, "Thank you, Hinata-chan!" _


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen **

"If cunning alone were needed to excel, women would be the best chess players." - Adolf Albin

* * *

**Yamato**

He glanced up as one of his ANBU agents walked into his office. By her HUMMINGBIRD mask and strawberry blonde hair, he knew it was Yamanaka Chika.

"How's tricks, taicho?"

Yamato could help the little smile from forming on his face. Yamanaka Chiko, like her younger clanswoman Yamanaka Ino, was an unrepentant flirt. Was being sexy and seductive rather than all that mind control stuff the bloodline of the Yamanaka clan?

Chika was a very capable kunoichi. Her bloodline wasn't as strong as Ino's – she couldn't do mind wipes – but she had quite a talent for genjutsu. She was one of his best ANBU captains.

He also had a horrible crush on her; it was horribly inappropriate for a man in his position as her superior.

He had gotten to know her several years ago while she was preparing for her jonin exams. She had begged him to teach her some A-level Suiton techniques. Her clan had mostly Earth Affinites and her sensei had a Fire Affinity, so she hadn't had too much training with her secondary water affinity. Her puppy dog eyes were impossible to resist so he'd agreed.

He still didn't know why she had thought wearing white while learning water ninjutsu was a good idea. Kami, he'd didn't want to even think about all the cold showers then his eighteen-year-old self had suffered through after their training sessions when she soaking wet and clinging onto him with those see through tank tops and skirt.

Chika walked over to him and handed him her report. "Mission successful. Maybe you could give me something _harder_ next time, Yamato?"

"Er," said Yamato, "I'll work on that."

"Please do. I can lend a _hand_ if you need me to. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing."

"I bet you are."

She giggled, taking off her mask to reveal green eyes, a dusting of freckles across her nose, pale skin, and glossy pink lips. She walked over to where he was sitting behind the desk and nudged his chair out from under the table with a sandaled foot. With a little smirk, she slid sideways onto his lap, using his right leg as her seat.

"We might have a problem, Yamato," she said, putting an arm around his shoulder. If she kept wriggling on his lap, they were going to have a problem. "I told him not to, but Naruto used the Rasengen again."

"Damn," he said, his hand coming to rest on her waist. "We've told him a thousand times not to use his signature moves."

She sighed and rested her head against his. "He said that he sometimes just can't help himself and has does something awesome."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

Her breath tickled his ear as she laughed. She turned pensive and said, "I think he might ask to be decommissioned soon. The ANBU lifestyle just isn't for some people."

Yamato took a deep breath. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Her green eyes twinkled as she asked, "Any plans tonight, _Captain_?"

He shrugged, trying to act cool as if a beautiful woman wasn't currently sitting in his lap. "Nothing interesting. What about you?"

She flipped her titian hair across her shoulder. "My plans fell through, can you believe that?"

"I'm shocked," quipped Yamato, bouncing her on his leg.

She winked at him. "I was going to go to the hot springs with some of my girlfriends, but they all to cancel."

"Unbelievable."

"I know, right? I'm going to be so _lonely_ tonight. I don't know what to do with myself."

"I'm sure that you won't have much trouble finding someone else to do."

"Yes," she agreed. "I think I've found someone."

Yamato blushed crimson. "Something - something else to do. I said something."

She ran a finger down his chest, purring, "Oh, I heard you the first time, Yamato."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sakura's return was heralded by the little chime at the door. She turned over in bed, feeling foolish for getting caught again. Sakura was sure to figure it out again. She hated doing this to her._

_Sakura's steps were quiet and slow up the stairs. She lingered in the doorway to Ino's room, holding something behind her back. Staring at her friend, Sakura said, "I spoke with Kakashi and Iruka and they found you a sub."_

_"Good," said Ino. "You don't have to stay to watch me, I'll be fine."_

_Sakura wandered into the room, still holding something behind her back. "Ino. You know that you can talk to me about anything right? No judgement."_

_Ino smiled guilelessly at her friend. "Of course, Sakura-chan."_

_Sakura stopped in front of the bed and put a plastic bag on the table. It was from the pharmacy just on the corner of her house. The pink haired medic took out a pregnancy test. "I bought this for you, Ino. I think you might be pregnant. I can't believe it took me this long to realize. Some medical ninja I am."_

_Ino looked at her friend as the pink haired girl opened the paper box and read the instructions. "I think you just need to—"_

_She didn't get any further. Ino put her fingers to Sakura's forehead and performed a quick mind wipe. She looked through Sakura's memories and thoughts. _

_Sakura summoned the slug; she went to Kakashi's office and told him that Ino would need a sub and something about scaring her to join T she went to Iruka's office and told him to get her a sub. Sakura was thinking the whole time that Ino might be pregnant. _

_Ino erased those thoughts. _

_Sakura stopped at the pharmacy on the corner and bought the pregnancy test. The little old woman at the front desk widened her eyes in surprise as Sakura paid for it. Sakura walked up to Ino's room and gave her the test._

_Ino modified those memories. _

_The blonde haired girl felt horrible for doing this to Sakura for the tenth time or so. It was almost every other day when Sakura saw her that Ino needed to modify her memories. There was also that poor woman at the pharmacy. Ino was going to have to modify her memories for the third time and quickly too because she was a terrible gossip. _

_Ino cast a sleeping jutsu on Sakura to keep her under while she went over to deal with the woman at the pharmacy. _

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura was standing at the pharmacy counter in the hospital, discussing the antidotes to poison that they had available when a woman walked up. She was wearing a teal dress that swirled around her knees as she walked.

Flipping her long strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, she grinned at Sakura and asked, "How's the boyfriend, pumpkin? Glad to have him back from that mission?"

"Er," stuttered Sakura. "Naruto and I aren't dating."

The older Yamanaka woman laughed and handed her prescription to the pharmacist who went in the back to fill it. The woman grinned at Sakura. "Are you sure? I see you guys on dates all the time. Captain Yamato thinks it's just adorable."

Sakura felt mutinous. Yamato was spreading rumors about her now too? Putting her elbow on the counter and raising a delicate eyebrow at the other woman, Sakura asked, "I can't believe that Yamato's spreading rumors. What is it I'm supposed to have done?"

The other woman winked at her. "I know better than to ask. Kunoichi rule number nineteen: a kunoichi doesn't kiss and tell."

Sakura laughed, "I didn't know there were kunoichi rules."

The strawberry blonde woman winked and said, "There are shinobi rules, so of course kunoichi added a couple of their own. Have you heard the kunoichi toast?"

"What's that?"

Yamanaka Chika accepted the paper bag with her prescription from the pharmacist and winked at Sakura. "When you're out partying with your girlfriends, you say the kunoichi toast before you drink your sake. Anko-chan says that's it's an ancient custom going back generations, but I think that Tsunade-sama and her friends just made it up when they were younger."

"How does it go then?" wondered Sakura.

"Ino-chan hasn't told you before?"

Sakura shook her head. "We've only really started drinking sake since the war. Ino-chan's not really into drinking, but she comes out with us anyway."

Chika nodded and raised her little white bag to tap it against Sakura's elbow. "It's like this: May your senbon always stay sharp and your sake glass never run dry! And…"

"And may your husband never find out about your lover!" interrupted a voice from behind them.

The pair turned around to see Fujii Aiko grinning at them. She was wearing her lab coat over a bubblegum pink dress; her curly blonde hair had crunched up even more in the humid summer air.

"Corrupting the youth again, Chika-chan?" the doctor teased.

"Educating them," corrected Chika. "This poor girl doesn't know the kunoichi toast. Can you believe it?"

"Were you able to fill your prescription alright then, Chika?" asked Akio, changing the subject. "We're starting to run low on that particular potion. I'll have to request some more."

The pharmacist, who was shuffling around behind the shelves poked his head out. "We're running very low, Fujii-san."

Akio nodded. "This new birth control potion has been very popular among our kunoichi. It's very effective and doesn't have too many of the strange side effects of other methods."

"Yeah," said Chika. "I'm glad you mentioned it to me, Akio. A kunoichi can never be too careful. One unplanned pregnancy can be the end of a woman's career. I've seen it happen more often than I like to admit."

Akio glanced at the pink haired medical ninja. "I think we gave you a prescription too, Sakura. Have you been taking it?"

Sakura blushed and looked uncomfortable. Chika preened. "I thought you and Naruto weren't dating. What do you need birth control for, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura muttered, "I haven't taken it yet. My friend Ino gave me something else to try in the meantime. She said that she was on that and it had weird side effects."

Akio raised an eyebrow. "That must have been one of our earlier serums. We've perfected the recipe and greatly reduced all the side effects. It's perfectly safe and effective." Akio got her prescription pad and jotted something down, handing it to the pharmacist. "You should be careful using methods that haven't had considerable scientific testing. You're better using a drug that's been approved and tested than some little herbal remedy that Yamanaka Ino's cooked up."

Chika nodded in approval. "You need to be careful, Sakura."

The pharmacist handed Sakura a little paper bag identical to the one that Chika was carrying. In it were several little pink vials.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen **

"The knight is renowned for, among other things, its suitability as a blockader ... Because its strength lies in short-range operations it is not uncomfortable standing in a single spot for long periods, as the Bishop is." - Samuel Reshevsky

* * *

**Interlude**

_Yamato was sitting in his office reading through reports as the team came in. He nodded to them as stood up from his desk. Walking around to the front he said, "I'm sending the four of you out on your first mission with DOVE in your ranks."_

_EAGLE nodded. "Yes, Commander."_

_"This mission has two parameters. First, you are delivering a message to the Mizukage from the Hokage. This is your cover. Second, you are to investigate the legitimacy of rumors that a new jinchuriki has been created in Kiri."_

_DOVE gasped, "Surely Kiri hasn't—"_

_Yamato held up a hand. "We don't know for sure, but there has been suspicious activity in that part of the world. Kiri is greatly weakened by the war. We want to ensure that they are holding up their promises. It is imperative that no one from Kiri knows the true nature of your visit. If they discover that we've been sneaking around, it could spark and international incident."_

_"Yes, Commander," the four ninja chorused before disappearing in a puff of smoke._

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

EAGLE, SPARROW, HAWK, and DOVE crouched up on the bluff that rose up a ways outside of Kirigakure.

They had changed into their Kiri hunter ninja outfits before leaving their rooms and shunshin-ing to a corner of Kiri, where they could slip out of the city to complete the second part of their mission.

DOVE held her fingers together in a handsign that HAWK had noticed the other ANBU Hyuga clan members use from time to time. She must have activated her Byakugan to search the area. "All clear," came her soft voice.

EAGLE made a signal with his fingers and hissed, "Scatter."

The four ninjas approached the location from the four different corners. HAWK could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He knew what they were looking for in this place, but he hoped that they wouldn't find it. What would it spell for the shinobi world if Konoha discovered that Kiri was creating jinchuriki? He knew what the kages had promised in their last summit. Naruto had been unable to speak of anything but the summit for a good two week after he returned.

The four ANBU wandered around the site. DOVE spoke again. "I can't see any active chakra signatures besides our own."

HAWK nodded. "There's not too much foreign chakra residue. I think the place is clean."

EAGLE put his hands on his hips. "I thought for sure that we'd find something."

DOVE's soft voice cut it. "We should hurry back before we're missed."

EAGLE held out his fingers in another signal and said, "Our cover mission starts tomorrow morning."

* * *

**Interlude**

_"Any questions?" asked the ANBU Commander._

_There was silence in the room until a boy in a bright orange jumpsuit threw his hand up in the air. "I have a question, Captain Yamato!"_

_"Naturally," deadpanned Yamato, turning to the boy._

_Naruto's ANBU captain let out a little giggle from her seat next to the blonde boy. Her plaited red gold fell like a river of molten gold down her shoulder. Her twinkling eyes were … snap out of it, Yamato!_

_Yamato had gathered a group of ten together to debrief Naruto and Sasuke about the dangers ROOT posed to them. Now that they'd been added to ANBU, they wanted to explain how this was going to affect the dynamics of and the missions assigned to their teams._

_The Hokage, ANBU Commander, Head of T&I, and two captains of the ANBU squads sat around the table with their assistants at their side. Uzumaki Karin was a new addition to the group. She had joined Ibiki in T&I around the same time that Naruto and Sasuke joined ANBU. Yamato had appointed Sai as his second in command, so the former member of ROOT was also present at the table. Nara Shikamaru was there as Kakashi's advisor._

_Naruto closed his eyes and put his arms over his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto spoke after a moment, "What I don't understand is how we haven't caught these ROOT bastards yet. If they're anything like Sai was, they should be totally obvious because of their lack of social skills." Naruto turned to his friend and amended, "No offense."_

_Sai nodded wisely and said, "I assume that you didn't want that to be construed as an insult. Thank you for letting me know. I have great difficulty understanding sarcasm and double talk."_

_Naruto waved his hand at the dark haired former ROOT member. "See what I mean. Sai's like an emotionless robot – no offense – surely someone would have noticed if there's an army of emotionless robots running around!"_

_Karin chuckled. Ibiki elbowed her in the side and nodded at the table. "Would you like to explain, red?"_

_Karin slid her glasses up her nose and said, "You raise a good point, Naruto. ROOT's main force has been trained to be an army of drones. They are taught to suppress their every emotion so that their loyalty to ROOT is absolute. However, what we are dealing with are the ROOT infiltration operatives. They have suppressed their emotions as well, but they have been taught to seem normal to those around them."_

_"They're classic psychopaths: exhibiting narcissism, lack of empathy, and anti-social behavior," Ibiki explained. "They're charming but cunning and manipulative. They have no remorse or guilt for the evil they might cause. They will be pathological liars, needing to cover their tracks and prevent discovery."_

_"Sounds like Sasuke-teme," Naruto laughed._

_Sasuke rolled his eyes._

_"I hardly think that Sasuke is a member of ROOT, Naruto," said Sasuke's ANBU captain, Kenta. _

_"Though he is a classic psychopath," countered Naruto with a grin._

_Yamato glared at Naruto. "I hardly think that's appropriate, Naruto. Can we get back to our discussion?"_

_Naruto muttered something under his breath about people not appreciating his jokes. Shikamaru spoke up from his chair. "As two of our strongest ninjas with impressive bloodlines, we believe that both of you may be targets for ROOT."_

_Yamato nodded. "We have our best people trying to discover the ROOT operatives' identities and plans, but we cannot be too careful. I'm going to ask both of you to careful not to make your identities known while you're in your ANBU uniforms. This will hopefully be able to offer you another layer of protection against them."_

_Naruto scratched his head and held up his ANBU mask. "Er, Yamato, don't you think my fox mask will sort of defeat the purpose there?"_

_Yamato slapped a hand to his forehead. Kami, why did they think having Naruto join ANBU was a good idea? _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen **

"I have added these principles to the law: get the Knights into action before both bishops are developed." - Emanuel Lasker

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru was a bit surprised to see Ino swaying next to the lime trees in the plant nursery with a dark haired baby swaddled to within an inch of its life nestled in her arms. There was a bouquet of white calla lilies on the work table that Ino was planning to give Kurenai when she returned. Ino either gave Kurenai red poppies, which were the older jonin's favorite, or white calla lilies, which Ino said represented motherhood.

"Aren't you a beautiful baby, Asuka?" she cooed. "You're going to be as pretty and smart as your mommy and as brave and goofy as your daddy!"

It was a pretty picture to be sure. A look into his own future, he liked to think. Morino Ibiki paused behind him, looking around the greenhouse. "She likes plants as much as her old man did."

Ino turned towards them, shifting Asuka in her arms. The baby gurgled and reached pudgy fingers towards Ino's face. "Good afternoon, Shika, Ibiki-san."

"Kurenai running errands?" wondered Shikamaru walking over. "Here, I can take her."

"Yeah, Kurenai asked me to watch her. Asuka's no trouble." Ino gently placed the baby into Shikamaru's arms.

The baby cooed and grasped Ino's blonde ponytail as she was shifted into Shikamaru's arms. Ino smiled fondly at her late sensei's baby girl before prying her hair out of the baby's grasp.

Ino cocked her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Morino-san?"

"I wanted to speak with you about joining the Torture and Interrogation department," began Ibiki. "You are one of the best mindwalkers in Konoha. You'd be a great asset to the group."

Shikamaru picked up where Ibiki left off. His hard stare was somewhat diminished by the little baby girl giggling and reaching towards his earring. "I've spoken with Kakashi and Ibiki. They're willing to compromise with you about operating the flower shop. We'll arrange for you to work part time."

As always, Shikamaru had thought of everything. "That's all well and good," said Ino, "but when will I have time to complete my customer's orders and clean up the shop? It'll just end up giving me a lot of extra work."

Shikamaru nodded with a smile. "I've also spoken with Umino Iruka at the academy. He has arranged for the oldest two classes to have their kunoichi practicum at the flower shop while you're working at T&I. The girls can learn about flower arranging while helping to complete some of your simpler orders. I've also spoken with the other teachers at the academy and they've agreed to have groups of their older students help clean up and manage the shop while you're gone. It'll be training for D-rank missions. They'll volunteer, so you won't have to pay them. "

"It sounds like you've arranged for every contingency, Shika," Ino noted.

He smirked at her. "Well that's my job."

"What if I told you that I won't be able to perform any mindwalks for some time?"

Ibiki blinked in surprise. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome woman. Will you quit being so pigheaded?" He looked down at the baby in his arms. "I hope you won't be as troublesome as your Auntie Ino, Asuka."

Ino huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's the truth. I'm still recovering from the mental strain during the war. It will be dangerous for me at this time to perform mindwalks requiring larger amounts of chakra. That's why I've been putting you off, Ibiki. I've told you before. I'm not ready."

"I've never heard of that happening before to Inoichi," said Ibiki. "Is everything alright?"

"It's a Yamanaka kunoichi thing," said Ino.

"We can still use you in the meantime. There are other things besides mindwalks that you can work on at the Department," said Ibiki.

"How much longer will you need, Ino?" wondered Shikamaru sarcastically. "Or do you even know?"

Ino pursed her lips in a thin line. "I can't say for certain, but I have a feeling it'll be around five months." She took a step towards Shikamaru. "Can I have her back then?"

Shikamaru pouted for a moment before shifting the baby into Ino's arms. "I hope you don't think…"

"I'll do it," said Ino simply, tucking the baby's head into her elbow. The little girl's dark crimson eyes stared up at the blond girl as she reached up for that elusive golden river of hair. Looking over at Ibiki, she said again, "I'll do it. I'll work at the Torture and Interrogation Department with you."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Ino sighed happily as Shikamaru pulled her into his arms and rolled them both over onto their sides. He kissed her shoulder and ran his hands up and down her back. After the hair-raising experience of the shadow trying to force his way out of the locked door in the prison she'd set up in her mind, making love to Shikamaru had been a nice change of pace. When he wasn't being a pretentious or possessive jerk, he was a passionate and attentive lover. _

_"Oh, Shikamaru," she whispered into his ear as he ran his hands over her body. "That was so wonderful."_

_"Ino," he asked. "Are you sure you activated that birth control seal?"_

_Ino felt a cold chill run down her back. It was too good to be true. Shikamaru figured it out all the time, especially after their lovemaking. She probably shouldn't give in to her passions as often as she did, but she was pregnant and she was horny. She couldn't help herself._

_"I think so," said Ino. "Why?"_

_"I'm so sorry, I must have messed it up. I can't believe that I did," he said studying the little seal she'd painted onto her hip. "I had thought that it was funny that it didn't glow red more often. I guess we know why."_

_"What do you mean glow red?"_

_His hand smoothed down her stomach and he said, "For a couple days before and after you're ovulating, it glows red."_

_"Really?" wondered Ino. "I didn't know that."_

_Damn. She would have to do that next time to try to fool him. A quick genjutsu would suffice. Then maybe she could go a day without having to give her lover a mind wipe._

_"Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I guess it slipped my mind." He tickled the little seal on her hip, looking at it closer. He glanced up at her. "Ino, this is all wrong. There's a stroke missing."_

_"What?" wondered Ino. "Where?"_

_She rose from the bed and picked up a brush and ink. "Fix it," she commanded._

_"Uh," Shikamaru looked uneasy. "Do you think that's wise? I might not be good for the baby."_

_"Baby?" asked Ino._

_"You're pregnant Ino, I'm almost certain of it. I feel like an idiot for not figuring it out. It all makes sense now. The nausea, the weight gain, the mood swings..."_

_"It could just be PTSD," Ino shrugged. "Why don't you just paint that little fix on the seal and then I'll run to the pharmacy and get a pregnancy test. If I'm not pregnant then we can activate the seal and not worry and if I am pregnant, we'll at least know for sure."_

_She stretched out on the bed as he leaned over her. His loosened hair fell on either side of his face. "I do love your hair down, Shikamaru," she said._

_"Hm?" he wondered._

_"Yes," said Ino. "It's like a secret that I get to share with you. You never wear it down in public; you always have it up in a ponytail."_

_He put down the brush and ink on the side table. He blew on the ink to help it dry. "Should be dry in just a second," said Shikamaru._

_She giggled as his warm breath brushed over her hip. He rested a hand on her stomach, caressing it reverently. He slid up to kiss her on the lips. "Careful, you'll smudge the ink," she scolded._

_His hand was resting on her stomach and he was grinning widely. "I can go to the pharmacy. You stay here."_

_"No," said Ino, pulling him back onto the bed. "Let me do it."_

_She really was a sucker for punishment. But it was so wonderful when he found out like this. They'd acted out this little scene four times before. For Shikamaru this was the very first time. For Ino, it was the fourth. It was probably cruel for her to play around like this with his mind, but she was going to have to wipe it anyway. They hadn't given her a choice and she was still powerless to defy them. Why not have a moment of joy with him before doing it?_

_She waited for the ink to dry before putting her clothes on and hurrying down to the corner pharmacy. She picked up the pregnancy test and wiped the store keeper's mind before hurrying up to Shikamaru. _

_He had put on his pants and was pacing the room. He pulled her into his arms as soon as she walked upstairs. "Are you nervous?"_

_"Yes," she said completely truthfully. _

_After she was done with the test, she took it out to the bedroom and set it on the box while they waited for it to be ready. Ino sat on the bed while Shikamaru paced about the room. "Calm down," she said. "You're making me nervous." _

_He paused in front of her, "Is it ready yet?"_

_She glanced up at him. "Probably. Can you look, I'm too nervous."_

_He nodded and picked up the stick, glancing at the box to see what the lines represented. She smiled softly as a huge grin bloomed on his face. He picked her up off the bed and spun her around in his arms. "We're having a baby, Ino! Can you believe it?"_

_Ino laughed as he twirled her around. He set her back on her feet and held her looking deep into her eyes. "I love you, Ino, and I will love our baby. I promise you that."_

_Ino cried tears of joy. This was the only time he ever told her that he loved her. _

_"Oh, Shikamaru," she hugged him tightly. "I love you so much."_

_This was also the only time when he believed her when she told him that she loved him._

_His bright grin completely transformed his face. He kissed her soundly on the lips. "Should we get married? Should we tell Choji? Should we tell my mom? What are you supposed to do when these things happen?"_

_Ino laughed and shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "But you can hold me in your arms for a start." _

_She nestled her head against his chest as he pulled her into his arms, sliding a hand under her shirt to rest against her stomach. "You're getting pretty big. I wonder how far along you are," he mused._

_"Dunno," said Ino. _

_She hid her face in his chest and put a finger to his forehead. "What are you doing?" he wondered._

_"I'm so sorry," she said quietly before stealing away the happy memories._

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

When he walked into his office, Kakashi pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Apparently he wasn't and dreams did come true. Lifting his hitai-ate from over his Sharingan eye, he couldn't help but smirk. He closed the door firmly behind him and set up a quick genjutsu on the room before walking over to where Anko lay across his desk with her head propped up on one hand. He had been a little sad when she turned in her mesh body suit for a skin tight black tank top and forest green short skirt, but she was still sexy as hell.

"Done assigning that one S-rank mission then, _Hokage-sama_? I think you've earned a little break."

"Not yet, but I think I've earned the break," said Kakashi with a grin, slipping his arms around her waist and lifting her up to sit on his desk. How was it that whenever Anko said "_Hokage-sama_" it sounded more like talking dirty than politely addressing her superior?

She pulled down his mask and kissed his on the lips, tugging on his bottom lip as she pulled away. Whispering hotly in his ear, she asked, "Your place or mine?"

Silencing her with a deep kiss, he pulled her closer so that he was standing between her legs. He said, "I've got a meeting with the village elders in ten minutes."

Anko pulled at his belt buckle. "I guess we'll have to be quick then," she mused. "We've never done it on your desk before, have we?"

"Not yet," said Kakashi, already pulling down the mesh shorts she wore under her skirt. "Not that I haven't thought about it before."

"My, my," she whispered in his ear as she caressed his erection, "you're naughty, _Hokage-sama."_

She moaned as he bit at her hardening nipples through her tank top and retaliated by stroking him with her fingers. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her closer towards him so that she was able to wrap her legs around his waist.

He tugged down on her tank top and the mesh bra she wore underneath. Kneading a breast in one hand and swirling his tongue around the nipple of the other one, Kakashi remarked, "I hope you won't report me to for abuse of power."

Tightening her legs around his waist, she angled her hips towards him. "Kakashi. Will you stop chatting and fuck me, please?"

Kakashi smirked. Kami, did he love this woman. He pounded into her again and again, shaking the desk with the momentum. Their moans and cries would have spilled out into the hallway if he hadn't cast that genjutsu on the room. Her head was thrown back and her light brown eyes closed. Her grip was almost painful as she tugged at his hair, but he was too far gone to care.

"Oh, fuck, Kakashi," she cried out in ecstasy.

"Anko!" he moaned.

She laid back against his desk, utterly spent and glowing from the pleasure. Her legs trembling around his waist were one of the only things keeping him on his feet.

"Wow," was all he said, pulling out of her.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We should do it on your desk more often."

She plucked the hitai-ate from his head and used the fabric to clean the mess between her legs. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before winking at him. "Don't be late for your meeting, _Hokage-sama_."

She was gone in a puff of smoke. Kakashi blinked in confusion. Was that a dream? But he was still standing in front of his desk with his pants down and his now flaccid cock sticky from their love making. Muttering to himself about the loss of his hitai-ate, he went to the adjoining bathroom to clean himself up.

A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door as Kakashi was dabbing a washcloth across his face. "Come in!"

Shikamaru poked his head in. "You said that you wanted to see me, Kakashi?"

"The council wants to speak with you. Come on, let's go."

Shikamaru stood out in the hallway looking at the Hokage curiously. "What happened to your hitai-ate?"

"Somebody stole it."

"Uh, what?" muttered Shikamaru as he followed Kakashi down the stairs and towards the third spiral tower where the Village Council had their meeting rooms. "Why does the Council want to see me?"

"Because Utatane Koharu is a busybody and an unrepentant matchmaker. I'm of half a mind to just have my ANBU assassinate her and put someone more reasonable in her place, like Uchiha Madara or Yakushi Kabuto."

"Er, right," said Shikamaru. His genius strategic mind was having trouble making sense of Kakashi's explanation. "When you say matchmaker, you don't mean…"

"Let's find out, why don't we," said Kakashi holding the door to the Konoha Council chambers open.

Shikamaru stepped in after him eyeing Koharu and Homaru curiously. "Good afternoon," the Nara genius said in way of greeting. Less formal than Yamanaka Ino's had been but more polite than Uchiha Sasuke's.

Kakashi weaved his way around the vases, which were now scattered on every surface of the room. The place was strewn with red roses. There was a surreal path of ikebana arrangements that lined the small open patch of floor that lead to the couches in the center of the room.

Koharu considered Shikamaru over her teacup. "A good afternoon it is, Nara Shikamaru."

Kakashi felt a chill of unease. Why was the Konoha Councilwoman in such a good mood? Had C from Kumogakure been sending more love letters for Yamanaka Ino that Koharu was intercepting and reading? He sat down next to Shikamaru on the couch opposite the council members. There was an actual azalea bush set against the couch. It was quite tall, so the leaves and branches dug into Kakashi's back.

Homaru cleared his throat and said, "Son, we're received a number of marriage proposals for you."

Shikamaru snorted, "Kunoichi asking for my hand in marriage? Troublesome. What could they possibly have to gain?"

Koharu smiled kindly at the Nara boy. It freaked Kakashi out. "Don't sell yourself short, Shikamaru-kun. The other villages are coveting the impressive strategic genius of you and your father. They're hoping that you'll pass it onto your children."

"Hm," Shikamaru mused looking around the room, "So that's what all the flowers are about: shinobi and kunoichi from other villages have been proposing marriages to Konoha ninjas. And you're holding onto all the flowers and presents."

Kakashi's eyes widened. That made sense.

"How old are you, boy?" asked Homaru.

"Seventeen," answered Shikamaru.

"Probably a bit too young to be married," said Kakashi. "I'm nearly thirty and I haven't married yet. It's completely normal to wait until you're older."

Koharu eyed Kakashi shrewdly, "Don't worry, Kakashi, we're working on that." Kakashi didn't like the sound of that.

"Why should I marry outside of the village? I probably don't know any of these women," said Shikamaru. "Besides, if I was in love with a kunoichi from another village, I would have already sent my request along with everyone else's when the law was passed by the Five Kages."

Taking a sip of her tea, Koharu said, "You may not love the kunoichi now, but you could grow to love her."

Shikamaru scowled at the councilwoman. "Our alliances with the other villages are strong. The bonds forged during war are strong. We don't need to cement them with marriages. The other villages respect and fear Naruto. They will not betray Konoha. Furthermore, arranged marriages between Konoha and other villages are more likely to damage our relationships with these villages than enhance them if shinobi and kunoichi are being forced against their wills to marry."

"Shikamaru-kun," said Koharu, putting down her teacup and looking over at the Nara boy condescendingly, "what you have failed to account for is the fact that this is the best opportunity for Konoha to incorporate several rare bloodlines from other nations into our ranks."

"Yes, that would be beneficial for the village. However, the fallout between the villages as they compete for the loyalty of these children with joint-citizenship and important kekkei genkai could very well bring about the Fifth Shinobi World War for the next generation."

"You can't say that for certain," countered Koharu. "These marriages will unite the nations and prevent a war from occurring for this reason."

"While Konoha is working to steal bloodlines from other villages, other nations are no doubt trying to steal our bloodlines. I assume that you're unwilling to compromise the Uchiha, Hyuga, Senji or Uzumaki/Namikaze bloodlines by giving them other villages. Yet you're perfectly willing to lose the Nara bloodline to another village. This doesn't inspire much faith for me," challenged Shikamaru.

Homaru handed Shikamaru a folder. "We will be aggrieved at the chance of another village stealing the Nara bloodline, but this is too good of a chance to receive the Lava Release kekkei genkai or the Dust Release kekkei tota in return."

"If you agree, we would like to accept Kurotsuchi's offer. She is the daughter of Yondaime Tsuchikage Kitsuchi and the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage Oonoki."

Shikamaru looked down at the profile. "I'm sorry, Koharu, but I will have to decline the offer. I don't want to marry Kurotsuchi."

Koharu stared Shikamaru down. "I hope you have a good reason for betraying your village like this, Shikamaru."

Closing the folder and handing it back to Homaru, Shikamaru said simply, "I'm in love with someone else, a kunoichi of this village. That is why I'll have to decline."

Homura nodded in understanding. "That is an acceptable reason to decline the offer if you already plan to marry another woman."

"I do," said Shikamaru. Winking at Kakashi, he said, "When I'm older, of course."

Kakashi cleared his throat, saying, "I think Shikamaru has raises several valid points during his meeting with us. I am going to see to it that our village does away with this preposterous arranged marriage scheme. Love matches will be approved but nothing else." He glanced around at the room. "And you should probably return the flowers, Koharu."

When Koharu didn't immediately offer her objections, Kakashi was instantly suspicious. "It that alright with you, Koharu?"

"Yes," said Koharu. "We will not accept any more arranged marriages from other villages. We'll see to the flowers."

"Good," said Kakashi.

Standing up and nodding to Shikamaru, Kakashi made for the door. When he realized that Shikamaru wasn't behind him, he glanced back at the couch. Shikamaru was still sitting here across from the Konoha Council. "You said you will not accept any _more_ arranged marriages," said Shikamaru. "Does this mean that you have already accepted one?"

Kakashi paused with his hand on the doorknob. Pulling his hand back and walking over to stand behind the couch, he stared over at the Konoha Council. That must have been it. It explained why Koharu looked so pleased with herself.

"Did you accept one of the arranged marriage proposals?" asked Kakashi.

Koharu picked her teacup up from her saucer again and sipped it daintily. "We did," she said.

"Did you have the Konoha ninja's consent? You know you can't agree to it unless you do. You're not their parent or guardian to go above their heads like this," said Kakashi.

Koharu glanced at him over the teacup. "I'm afraid that I'll have to correct you on that remark. The Konoha Council actually is the guardian of this kunoichi. Her father, mother, and guardian all died during the ninja war and because she is still a minor according to Konoha law, the Konoha Council are her guardians."

Kakashi cursed. Those damned archaic village laws. Koharu was right. They had every authority to do this. "So which of her suitors did you choose?"

"C of Kumogakure."

Shikamaru jumped up from his chair. He must have deduced which kunoichi they were talking about. "That's impossible. You've agreed to an arranged marriage for Ino without her consent?"

"Yes, we have," nodded Koharu, lifting her teacup to her lips to take another sip.

The teacup never made it to her mouth. It shattered on the floor as Shikamaru lunged for the councilwoman, lifting her up from the couch by her shoulders and shaking her violently. "Well you better send a hawk to Kumo saying that you made a mistake!" he yelled.

Kokaru and Homura gaped at the enraged Nara man. Kakashi was surprised himself. He didn't think he'd ever seen Shikamaru so angry.

"I'm sorry," said Homura, "but it's simply too late for that. They've already agreed to the match and are making preparations."

Shikamaru released Koharu from his grasp and she fell back onto the couch. Turning on Homaru, Shikamaru demanded, "And when were you planning to tell Ino?"

"Probably sometime this week."

"Well I'm afraid you'll just have to break the engagement."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," said Homura. "It will be a gross insult to Kumogakure. It could cause an international incident."

"Well you should have thought about that before you went behind everyone backs," pointed out Kakashi.

Koharu had regained her wits again after being shaken like a ragdoll in Shikamaru's grasp. She straightened in her seat and said, "It's too late. The contract has already been signed and it's legally binding. She can't get out of it now."

"That's where you're wrong," said Shikamaru. "It's not legally binding, because she's already married."

"But- but that's impossible," gaped out Koharu. "We would have been informed. Who on earth is she married to?"

"She's married to me," said Shikamaru.


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you everyone for all the lovely reviews! It looks like some of you are developing theories about what's going on based on some of the hints that I've dropped in previous chapters... **

**Now here's some nice ShikaIno goodness.**

* * *

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Twenty **

"The knight is renowned for, among other things, its suitability as a blockader ... Because its strength lies in short-range operations it is not uncomfortable standing in a single spot for long periods, as the Bishop is." - Samuel Reshevsky

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru answered the knock on the door. His father was out on another planning mission about the war and his mother was with Choji's mother, helping to prepare supplies for the Allied Shinobi Forces. Troublesome, who had come to bother him this afternoon?_

_He was surprised to see Ino standing on his bottom step. She was wearing a blue tank top and a white skirt that fluttered around her knees in the light breeze._

_"Good, you're home," said Ino walking past him, into his house. "Are your mom or dad home?"_

_"No, why?"_

_When she didn't answer, he followed her into the kitchen. She poured two glasses of water from the tap and handed one to him. His long fingers wrapped around it. _

_"We got put in different divisions," she said simply._

_"I know," he answered._

_"You're in the Fourth Division with Choji and I'm in the Fifth Division with Kiba and Shino," she continued._

_He took a sip from the glass she handed him. "Not really a time to get nervous, Ino. We're supposed to be deployed tomorrow. We're joining with our divisions and then heading to the front."_

_Ino looked down at her hands. Her blonde bang slid across her face, hiding her eyes from his scrutiny. "I know."_

_He put down his glass and stood in front of her, putting his hand on her shoulder. He was just as nervous as she, but he faked a smile. Smoothing back the blonde bang behind her ear, he looked into both of her too blue eyes and said, "Everything'll be fine. My dad's great at thinking strategies and your dad's great at relaying them. We're as well prepared as we could hope for."_

_Ino put down her glass on the counter next to his. "Shika," she began, before looking to the side and blushing. "Can I kiss you?"_

_"What?" he gaped. Was this a trick? "Is that you, Naruto? That's not a very funny joke."_

_The blonde girl rolled her eyes and hit him over the head. "You and I both know Naruto's headed off to do his bijuu training. It's not a trick. I should have known you'd take it like this." _

_She stepped around him and would have bolted out of the house if he hadn't grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said._

_Willing and pliant in his grasp, she let him pull her into his arms. Releasing his tight grip on her upper arms, he slid his hands down her beautiful body to rest on her lower back. It felt like coming home, having her in his arms. They fit together like puzzle pieces. _

_She rested her hands on his chest and titled her head up towards him, stretching and bending like a flower towards the sun. He moved one hand to her cheek and looked down at her intently, hoping to burn the image into the back of his eyelids. She parted her lips and closed her eyes, waiting for him. He smoothed a hand across her cheek before kissing her softly on the lips._

_She returned his kiss eagerly, her tongue traced the seam of his lips, begging entrance. She slid her hands up his chest to wrap around his neck, pressing her body in closer to his. She deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth to dance with his. He could feel every exquisite inch of her body pressed tightly against his. _

_She backed him against the countertop and kissed him thoroughly. She was really good at this. He slid his hands up her back, not sure what he was allowed to touch. _

_She pulled back from him after several minutes, her breathing unsteady. "I didn't want to go to war without doing that." _

_"That makes two of us," he said, resting his forehead against hers. _

_She wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her head on his chest. "Would you want to…" she began._

_He blinked down at her curiously. Was she asking what he hoped she was asking? This had to be a dream. The Ino he knew didn't act like this in real life. "Want to what?" he pressed._

_She leaned up towards his ear and whispered, "I don't want to go to war with any regrets." _

_They stumbled up to his room, stopping on just about every stair to share kisses. Eventually losing patience, Shikamaru picked her up bridal style and carried her up the stairs. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and laying kisses on his mouth and face as they went to his bedroom._

_"Kami, I'm so glad my parents are out," he said._

_Ino's giggle turned into a squeak as he dropped her on his futon still lying on the ground. Thank Kami he'd been too lazy to roll it up this morning. _

_He pounced on her. _

_"I waited to make sure Aunt Yoshino was out before I came over," Ino explained with a grin._

_He slipped his hands under the tight blue tank top and caressed the skin of her flat belly. Sliding the shirt over her head, he sat back to looked down at her. She was a seductive picture with her innocent white skirt puffed out around her knees and that sexy red and black lace bra. _

_She sat up on the futon and slid over to him, settling down in his lap. He let out a little groan as she wriggled on him. She slid his long sleeve blue shirt over his head and ground down against him with a cheeky grin. Shikamaru clutched onto her hips to try to lift her off him. "Kami, Ino!" he moaned_

_She laughed and unfolded herself from him. Standing up in front of the futon, she tugged at the zipper on the side of the skirt. The white skirt smoothed down her legs, revealing a matching set of red and black underwear. She walked towards him and he slid his hands around her hips, kissing her flat stomach. His tongue swirled around her naval, making her giggle. "Kami, you're sexy," he muttered._

_As he was occupied kissing her stomach and running his hands up and down her legs, she took his hair out of the ponytail and combed her hands through it with a sigh. "Stand up, Shika," she commanded. "I want to kiss you too."_

_He laughed and stood up, kissing his way up her body to her lips. She let out a little moan and he slipped his tongue into her mouth at the invitation. Her hands slid down the warm skin of his back, enjoying the flexing on his lean muscles. He tugged her hair out of her ponytail, reveling in it as the blonde tresses fell in a river down her back. She had the most beautiful hair._

_Her hands went to his chest and she pushed him hard. He stumbled down onto the futon in confusion and disappointment at the kiss ending so abruptly. He looked up at her in bewilderment. She smirked before climbing onto the futon behind him, sliding back into the center. _

_She beckoned him with half lidded eyes._

_Kami, what had he done to deserve such a beautiful, troublesome, charming, infuriating, brave, intelligent, wonderful girl? _

_He slipped out of his pants before crawling over to her. She spread her legs wide to allow him to settle in between them. He took deep breaths trying to control himself; he couldn't lose it this early._

_He slid his hands up the soft skin of her inner thighs to those really sexy lace panties and then up to her bra. Arching backwards, she unclasped her bra and slipped the straps off her shoulders. _

_"Kami, you're perfect," he said, taking the weight of her breasts in his hands. _

_He caressed and kneaded them, thumbing the erect nipples. Wanting to take one in his mouth, he kissed down her chest. She slipped her hands into his hair as he swirled his tongue around one of the hard peaks before biting it lightly. Ino let out a wonderful little moan from the back of her throat. She gasped out his name and he felt like a god._

_He felt like it was hours before his attention was torn away from her perfect breasts. Her hands, which had been caressing and massaging his shoulders, back, and arms, slid under the elastic of his boxers to grip his shaft. _

_He bit into her collarbone hard in alarm. She moaned out in surprise at the pain and pleasure. Her hand began sliding up and down his erection, her clever thumb sliding over the tip to wipe away the drop of fluid weeping from it._

_He panted into her shoulder, "Kami, Ino. If you keep doing that, I'm not going to be able to control myself."_

_Her voice was a breathless giggle in his ear. It sent a shiver down his spine. She arched her hips up, brushing against him. "Please, Shika."_

_He sat back panting like he'd run a race. He slipped off his boxers to let his erection spring free before slipping her sexy red and black panties down her perfect legs to reveal the little blonde thatch of hair and her sex. She spread her legs wider and held out her arms to him. _

_Kami, he wished he could take a picture and frame it: her body laid bare for him, her arms open in invitation, the pink flush that suffused her body, the way her breasts rose and fell as she took a breath, and that expression in her lust clouded eyes._

_He slid on top of her again, aligning their bodies. He breathed heavily, trying to get himself under control so he wouldn't lose it too early. _

_Ino, the little minx, was impatient. She arched her hips, so the tip of his cock slid until her sex. He gripped her arms tightly and groaned out. "Oh, Kami, Ino. I'm not ready yet."_

_She bit into his shoulder and wrapped her legs around his hips. "Shikamaru, please!" she groaned._

_He panted into her shoulder. "Are you sure you're ready? I heard it was supposed to hurt girls their first time."_

_Ino panted, wrapping her legs harder around him and arching her hips, trying to impale herself on him. "Oh, Kami. Please! Just do it, Shika! I can't wait any longer! I'm so ready."_

_He thrust into her and she let out a little scream. He gasped in her ear. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"_

_She moaned below him. "Oh, Kami, you feel so good. Please, more! Faster, deeper! Oh, Shika!"_

_He pulled out before thrusting into her harder. She didn't seem to be in any pain. Her eyes were closed as her bright blonde head thrashed side to side. Her legs tightened around his hips and she let out a keening moan. She arched up into him again. "Faster! Oh, Kami!"_

_He pounded into her again and again, moaning and groaning at the feeling of her tight and hot walls surrounding his rigid member. After a couple more thrusts, she completely lost it, arching into him and moaning out his name in ecstasy. Her walls shuddered and gripped him tightly as he too spiraled into ecstasy, moaning out her name and collapsing on top of her. _

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Shikamaru stumbled out of the Konoha Council room in a daze, knocking over a vase of red roses on the way out. What the hell had he just done? Ino was going to be pound him into oblivion. He wasn't any better than Koharu. He was forcing Ino into a marriage just as surely as the counsel women would have.

As they spoke of it so coolly, he felt a hot rage well up within him. It was jealousy, pure and simple. Ino would probably be happy with C of Kumogakure. In the little interaction he had seen between the pair, they got on well. He was just her type: beautiful, romantic, and gentle. Shikamaru was just being selfish and possessive and he felt like a jerk.

Even so, he would see it through. He needed to act fast to ensure that his deception wasn't discovered. He had to magically produce a marriage certificate. He would have it dated before the war. Tons of ninjas had gotten married before being deployed; it wouldn't have been unexpected if he and Ino had done the same thing.

How to go about this? He needed to be careful. If the council found out their marriage was just a ruse, both of them could get in serious trouble. No with another nation involved his plan would have to be flawless.

There wouldn't have needed to be too many people present at their fake wedding: just the presider, him, Ino, and a witness. He could ask Choji to be the witness. Choji would sign the form and probably ask a lot of questions and tease, but he would be discrete and defend Shikamaru's lie. The presider would be tricky. It had to be someone who had the proper licenses and who wouldn't squeal. Shikamaru didn't know anyone well enough to trust them to do that. It would have to be someone who had died during or soon after the war. Their death would ensure their silence.

He ran through every conversation he had with Konoha shinobi during the war in his head. Several of them had told him about getting married before the war broke out. There were a number of different presiders in Konoha. He compiled the list of the fourteen men in his head as he walked down the street towards Choji's house. Now with the list of fourteen presiders compiled, he sorted them into those who were alive and those that were dead. Many of the men weren't shinobi, so only four had died during the war or soon after.

One in particular jogged his memory. Kenta had survived the war, to die during an ANBU mission. He was Sasuke's ANBU captain, who had conveniently written a glowing letter of recommendation for Sasuke before his death. Shikamaru was pretty confident the letter was forged; though, it was almost impossible to prove. Sasuke must have mimicked Kenta's handwriting with his Sharingan and he'd done a fine job.

Sasuke would be discrete, unless Shikamaru pissed him off for some reason. He and Shikamaru weren't friendly; their relationship was rocky at best. But Sasuke had more reason to hate the council than he did, so he might go along with Shikamaru's plan. Shikamaru also had something that he could hold over Sasuke, the forged letter of recommendation, to ensure the Uchiha's cooperation. He hated to involve Sasuke in this, but it was the only way to ensure that the forged marriage papers would be flawless.

* * *

**Interlude**

_They lay side by side on his futon, staring up at his ceiling as they tried to catch their breaths._

_"We didn't use protection," he realized._

_"That's alright," she said. "I'm taking something so you don't need to worry about this getting me pregnant."_

_"Good," he said. He pulled her towards him and she rested her head on his shoulder. "That was…"_

_"Amazing," agreed Ino. "Was it your first time?"_

_Shikamaru felt embarrassed. "Yeah. Did I do alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"_

_Ino kissed him on the lips. "You were wonderful," she answered. "It didn't hurt at all. It was amazing."_

_"I thought it was supposed to hurt for girls on their first time," he said, caressing her waist._

_"You did bite my shoulder pretty hard. That's going to leave a mark," said Ino glancing down at said shoulder where the red marks were still visible._

_"This wasn't your first time, was it?" said Shikamaru._

_Ino stiffened. "What? Why would you say—"_

_His hand on her waist tightened and she flinched. He demanded, "Who was he?"_

_Ino tensed in his arms. "Why does it matter? I'm in your arms after we just made love for the first time and you're quizzing me about this?"_

_"Are you sending all our other friends off to war like this?" he snarled._

_"Why would you say that?" she gasped. Pulling away from him, she snarled, "Is that what you really think of me?"_

_"How many others have there been, Ino?" he growled._

_She sat up and glared down at him. "It was just one other man, okay?"_

_"What was his name?"_

_She stood up from the bed with a little scream of anger. She hurried over to pick up her underwear and bra where Shikamaru and tossed them. She glared down at her lover on the futon as she pulled on her panties and clasped on her bra. "I'm not going to stay here to be insulted."_

_"His name, Ino?" repeated, Shikamaru sitting up._

_Her skirt was dangling off a lamp. She grabbed it savagely and zipped it up. "That's none of your business."_

_"The hell it's my business. I have a right to know."_

_"You have no right to speak to me this way, Shikamaru," she said, walking towards him. Her blue tank top was at the foot of the bed._

_"Who was he?"_

_She tugged on her top. Whirling around, she snapped, "Why did you have to ruin this for me, Shikamaru? He doesn't matter anymore. He was just someone I used to know, someone beautiful and romantic and gentle. He wouldn't have insulted me like this."_

_She slammed the door and stomped down the stairs._

_"Well I hope you're happy together," Shikamaru said glaring at the door._


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One **

"To avoid losing a piece, many a person has lost the game." - Savielly Tartakower

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

She would recognize that voice anywhere. When she walked into her house after a thirty-six hour shift at the hospital wanting nothing but a hot meal, a bath, and a warm bed, she was taken aback at hearing Naruto laughing about something in the kitchen with her father. Her mother's voice was interspersed now and then with little questions and comments."

"…and then Kokuo whispered to me that snow leopards can't actually roar and I'd offended their leader, Yuki Hyou."

"Kokuo was the horse one, right?" asked her mother Mebuki.

"Yeah," said her father Kizashi. "He was the one with five tails, I think."

"So what did you do?" wondered Mebuki.

"Well I gave them my gift," answered Naruto.

Sakura walked quietly through the hallway towards the kitchen. She lingered silently in the doorway, the darkness and the silent tread of her feet making her civilian parents unaware of her presence. Naruto sat with his back to her in a chair. Her father sat next to Naruto on the side of the table facing Sakura. The blonde shinobi and her father were both nursing beers. Kizashi was too busy laughing and slapping Naruto on the back to notice his daughter lingering in the doorway.

"Not that bright orange sweater," said Kizashi in amusement.

"Yep," continued Naruto. He threw his arms out in a wide gesture. The back of his ridiculous orange jacket stretched over his broad shoulders.

Her mother was facing towards the oven, slipping on mittens as she went to take the casserole out of the oven. She turned towards Naruto and her husband, setting it down on the hot plate in the center of the table. She pulled back her chair and sat down across from Naruto. Her mother's normally stern expression was softened to one of wry amusement. "But you said that snow leopards prize secrecy and camouflage above all else, just like the ninjas do."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded his bright blonde head. "They totally do."

"So you offended them further by giving them that present?" wondered her mother with a giggle. "Oh, Naruto, you shouldn't be so reckless!"

"So what happened?" wondered her father.

"Well in the end Yuki Hyou was a good sport and let me sign their summoning scroll. Their tribe thought it was hilarious that I was so bad at camouflage and still the strongest ninja on the Shinobi continent." Her parents both laughed uproariously at that and Naruto turned to face Sakura with a grin. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

Mebuki glanced across at her daughter, "Sakura, you're home! I hope you don't mind that we invited Naruto over for lunch."

Kizashi patted Naruto on the back and said, "We wanted to get to know our future son-in-law better."

"Dad!" Sakura gasped blushing bright red and finally walking into the room. She sat in the empty chair at the table between her mother and Naruto.

"I don't understand why you don't invite Naruto over more often, Sakura," chided her mother. "I hope you're not embarrassed of us."

Sakura was sure that her face was quickly turning the same color as her hair. "So what were you guys talking about?"

Her father grinned widely. "Naruto was telling us about his last journey to the continent of the summons and his meeting with the great snow leopard summons."

"How many summoning contracts is that now, Naruto?" wondered her mother.

"Uh," thought Naruto to himself. "About eleven, I suppose."

* * *

**Interlude**

_The Land of Heaven was a beautiful place. Naruto had never realized how close some of the summons's lands were to each other. The Land of Heaven was far across the sea from the Land of Fire – which was why they usually used summoning contracts to visit each other – but it was very close to the lands of the other summons. _

_The Land of Ink, an archipelago just offshore where the octopus summons lived, was a three day journey southwest by foot and boat from the Land of Shells. The Land of Shells was comprised of the peninsula and barrier islands where the turtles and slugs lived. The Land of Toads was bordered in the south by the Land of Shells, in the north by the Land of Steep Crags, and to the east by the land of Heaven. Land of Steep Crags was actually the huge mountain range that ran in a diagonal across the middle of the continent. The bird summons nested there. The view from the Land of Steep Crags was astounding: an ocean of water extending to the horizon to the west and an ocean of grass extending to the horizon to the east. Mount Myoboku rose high within the small part of the mountain range contained within the Land of Toads. _

_The Land of Verdant Plains extended east out from the foothills of the mountains as far as the eye could see; it was a huge green expanse where the horse summons ran free. The Land of Winter was a cold and barren land. It stretched across the north of the continent, bordering the land of Verdant Plains and a small corner of the Land of Steep Crags._

_The Land of Verdant plains and its southern neighbor, the Land of Heaven, were both landlocked. The Land of Heaven was bordered to the west by the Land of Toads and to the south by the Land of Mangrove forests and the Land of Monkeys, which both extended to the ocean. A variety of insect summons lived on the border of the Land of Heaven and the Land of Mangrove Forests. The Land of Mangrove Forests was also home to the snake summons. Sasuke had been there before, but the place gave Naruto the creeps. _

_Naruto was proud to say that he had been to all the different Lands on the continent of the summons. He had rode with Kokuo through the tall grasses of the Land of Verdant Plains. He, Sasuke, and the Uchiha's hawk summons had climbed the tallest peak of the Land of Steep Crags and gazed in wonder at the world below them. He had fallen into the brackish water in the Land of Mangrove Forests while Sasuke, Chomei, and the Uchiha's snake summons hissed and chuckled at him. He had sat on Gyuk's head in the middle of a vast ocean while they watched the migration of the whale summons. He had stood on the shore stringing together a shell necklace for Sakura, while the pink haired medical ninja lay under an umbrella with Isobu, Saiken, and Sakura's slug summons. He had thoroughly embarrassed himself while in the Land of monkeys as Son Goku tried to teach him vine swinging. Of course the monkey summons had raved that Sarutobi Konohamaru was a natural. He had frozen his butt off in the Land of Winter when Kokuo had taken him with the diplomatic party of horses to meet the snow leopards._

_The Land of Heaven was one of his favorite lands. It was amazing to think of just how many summons lived there. Naruto would always have a special place for it in his heart because it reminded him of home, of the Land of Fire, and Konoha. There were the cats in their Fortress, the raccoons and raccoon dogs in the mountains to the north and the foxes in the forests to the west. He very much wanted to visit the Foxes in the Torikku Forest, but he always felt a terrible guilty about it. How could he go visit Kurama's clansmen when the fox was trapped and sealed within him?_

**_"I'm sure they won't mind, Naruto,"_**_ said Kurama. __**"They will understand when I explain the situation to them."**_

'But they'll hate me when they realize that I'm your jailor,'_ Naruto retorted. _

**_"I'm realizing that it's almost impossible for anyone to hate you,"_**_ muttered the fox. __**"I'm a manifestation of the hate and darkness in men's souls and even I failed in the end."**_

'I love you too, Kurama,'_ Naruto laughed._

_Kurama snorted._

_Naruto sat at a table with Matatabi and Shukaku, enjoying a cup of tea. It felt a little surreal, he wasn't going to lie. "Have you been to visit Kokuo lately?" asked Matatabi, nibbling on some cat nip. "We haven't heard from him in a while."_

_"No, I haven't been to visit the Land of Verdant Plains in some time," said the jinchuriki. "Were the snow leopards giving him a hard time after my meeting with them? I hope I didn't get Kokuo in trouble."_

_"No," said Matatabi. "We would have been informed if the snow leopard clans attacked the horse clans. We just haven't received any communication from Kokuo in several weeks."_

_Shukaku shrugged. "It's probably nothing._

_"It's the same thing that happened with Chomei," Matatabi observed. "He just stopped sending letters too."_

_Shukaku sneered at the cat. "That's probably because you keep sending all those tedious things. Chomei and Kokuo have better things to do than be your pen pals."_

_Matatabi hissed at the raccoon dog, "The others answer my letters."_

_"I still think it's the craziest thing that you all keep in touch," observed Naruto._

_Matatabi cleaned her face with a paw. Turning to Naruto, she pouted, saying, "Surely you speak with the friends you made during your Shinobi War from other lands."_

_"Well, I guess," said Naruto. "But you all live so far away, isn't it difficult to communicate?"_

_Shukaku waved a claw at Naruto. "We send messengers as you humans do. We are not much different."_

_Matatabi nodded. "Kokuo and his horse messengers are the fastest."_

_"So what's going on with Kokuo?" wondered Naruto._

_Shukaku sniffed, saying, "He's just sick of the cat being a busybody."_

_Naruto didn't want to worry them, but he had his suspicions. Suna wanted to seal the seven tails and make a jinchuriki. Iwa wanted to have the five tails. They wouldn't go back on their promises like that, would they?_

_Matatabi appealed to Naruto with huge eyes, asking, "Please, Naruto-sama, can you make sure that Kokuo is alright? I'm worried about him."_

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

Kakashi sat down in a seat in Yamato's office. "So what's up, Butsuma?"

"Butt, what?" sniggered Naruto. "Is that seriously your name, Captain Yamato?"

Yamato put a hand to his forehead and muttered, "It was my paternal grandfather's name."

"That sucks," muttered Naruto.

"You're named after fishcake, Naruto, I don't think you should talk," said Kakashi.

"I was actually named after a character in one of Jiraiya's books."

"You were named after a character in a soft porn novel?" Kakashi gaped.

"It was one of his other books," said Naruto scratching the back of his head and looking uncomfortable.

Naruto turned and then yelped when he noticed Yamato's scowl. "So what did you want to talk to us about, Naruto?" asked the ANBU commander.

"So I'm sort of thinking about retiring…" began Naruto.

"You're seventeen," noted Yamato.

"You better not plan to stick me with this job permanently," growled Kakashi. "It sucks. Tsunade was completely right. There's _so_ much paperwork."

"Kakashi, the only paperwork that you've been doing for weeks is not assigning that single S-Rank mission," Yamato quipped.

"The mission has really complex parameters," countered Kakashi.

"Er," interrupted Naruto. "I'm not planning to retire from being a shinobi. I want to retire from ANBU."

"Oh," said Kakashi with great relief. "That's fine then."

"Awesome," said Naruto pumping his fist in the air and jumping up from his chair.

"Not so fast, Naruto," said Yamato.

Naruto deflated, slipping back in his seat and looking at the ANBU commander in horror. "Not that scary face, Captain Yamato, I can't resist that."

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Now's not really a good time for you to retire from ANBU. Any other time I would be fine with it, but there's extenuating circumstances."

Naruto pulled at his hair. "But Chika-taicho never lets me use Kage Bunshin or the Rasengan or Kurama's chakra or Sage Mode or the Hirashin or my super awesome original Rasenshuriken jutsu or summon …"

"Yeah," said Yamato. "She doesn't want anyone to know who you are. All ANBU have that constraint."

Naruto scowled. "My codename is FOX, Yamato, how more obvious can you get?"

"Uh," wondered Yamato.

"I want to retire so I can go on regular missions and use all my awesome jutsu! Chika-taicho's totally cramping my style."

Kakashi and Yamato shared and amused glance. Yamato continued, "I'm sorry to do this to you, Naruto, but there is a reason for it. It's because of ROOT. We don't know how far they're infiltrated Konoha and keeping you in ANBU where we can keep an eye on your teammates is where you're safest."

"ROOT is after me?" wondered Naruto. "I thought we didn't know what their plans were."

Kakashi sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't. But if they can assassinate you, they will. You're the strongest shinobi in Konoha and our future Hokage. If anything happened to you—"

"Okay, I'll wait to retire from ANBU then," said Naruto, immensely flattered by Kakashi's reasoning.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two **

"If we talk about pure abilities and skills, I believe there should be no reason why women cannot play as well as men." - Susan Polgar

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru considered the board in front of him before picking up a piece and moving it forwards. He was close this time; he might actually beat his father._

_"So are you thinking about going for that jonin promotion, Shikamaru?" asked his father._

_Moving his knight forward and sitting back, he looked up at Shikaku. "I'm considering it. I need to work on increasing my chakra reserves before I do. I've been trying to learn more about sealing jutsu in the meantime."_

_"Fuuinjutsu, eh?" muttered Shikaku, as he captured Shikamaru's knight with his rook. "That's an area of study that the Nara clan hasn't pursued much before."_

_Shikamaru frowned at the board. Things weren't going as planned. "Most people only know the basics," agreed Shikamaru. "I think it's because there isn't much scholarship on sealing jutsu. It's almost impossible to get a teacher or fuuinjutsu theory scrolls for you to teach yourself."_

_His father moved his rook and said, "Check." Shikamaru frowned down at the board, pondering his next move. His father continued, "It's a shame that you didn't realize this interest while Jiraiya-sama was still alive. He was the foremost Fuuinjutsu master in Konoha, maybe even in the entire shinobi world now that the Uzumaki clan have been scattered and most of their knowledge lost."_

_"Yes," said Shikamaru. "I do regret that." He only had his rook left and his father had a rook and bishop. He moved his king out of check._

_Shikaku moved his bishop quickly before glancing back at his son. "Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato had a number of Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu scrolls. After they died, Jiraiya took them for safe keeping. Have they been returned to Naruto yet from Mount Myoboku?"_

_"Yeah, Naruto's working through them. I've been trying to help."_

_"So that's where the sudden interest came from," said his father. Moving his rook, he said, "Check."_

_"Damn," Shikamaru muttered to himself. "Your bishop's going to checkmate me in the next move." He moved his rook to check his father's king, but it was too little too late._

_Shikaku moved his bishop. "Checkmate."_

_Shikamaru picked up his king and handed it to his father. "I thought my trap would work."_

_"The trap was well thought out, but it left your own King vulnerable."_

_Shikamaru picked up his knight that his father had taken during the final moves of the endgame and mused, "Asuma said once that I'm like the knight. I can jump over the other pieces with my strategies."_

_Shikaku picked up his bishop and considered him. "A strong piece on the board to be sure. Though a bishop is usually stronger than a knight when they face each other."_

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

She looked down at her purple kunoichi outfit that she had laid out on futon. What was she supposed to wear to her first day at the torture and interrogation unit? It felt wrong to wear something other than her purple top and shirt when becoming an active kunoichi again, but she couldn't. She hated admitting it, but they didn't fit anymore.

Turning her gaze to the second outfit, Ino sighed morosely and pulled on the dark blue shinobi pants and long sleeve shirt that she had worn during the war. After zipping up the flak jacket, Ino stood in front of the mirror. She pulled her long blonde hair into its usual high ponytail.

Was she making a mistake? She really shouldn't go back into active service. It was a bad idea all around.

Was she supposed to wear her hitai-ate? She wasn't really even sure where it was. She hadn't worn it for years. Her father had worn it when he went to the Intelligence division. Maybe Ibiki would be understanding on her first day.

She walked out of her front door, walking through the flower shop and waving at Kimiko on her way outside. The tokubetsu jonin from the academy was sitting with the little girls from her class passing around flowers from a vase behind her.

"Now flowers can be arranged in many ways to send a message. When a kunoichi is undercover, sometimes she will communicate with her comrades through flowers. For example, if I was undercover on a mission to kidnap a noble and bring him with me to a safe house, I could send a message along to my comrades through flowers. In this way, there's less of a chance of the enemy incepting it. For example, if I prepared a bouquet with an Iris for good news, a Lotus meaning Far from the one he loves and a Chrysanthemum meaning imperial. What do you think my comrades would learn?"

One of the little girls raised her hand as the flowers were passed around. "That your mission was successful and that you were able to kidnap the daimyo and you are bringing him with you to the safe house."

Ino smiled to herself as she walked down the main drag of Konoha on her way to the new Torture and Interrogation unit. It was nice to wearing her kunoichi gear again, she felt like her old self again, before all this madness started. Villagers recognized that she was a kunoichi and waved at her, other ninjas nodded as she passed.

When she arrived in front of the door of the Torture and Interrogation department, she found the door swinging open even before she could open it. "Good, you're here," said the red haired girl that was a friend of Sasuke's.

Ino smiled and held out her hand. "You're Uzumaki Karin right? I'm Yamanaka Ino; it's nice to see you again."

The red haired girl quirked a smile. "Come on, Ibiki's waiting. He's going to debrief you and then I'll show you around the department."

"Great, thanks!" said Ino, shaking hands with the other girl.

They descended a wide staircase to the basement walking side by side down the stairs. "Ibiki's office is in the basement."

"Charming," muttered Ino.

"Yeah," agreed Karin. "You father's old office is much nicer, but I think people wanted to leave it open for you." Ino hesitated on the step causing Karin to turn around and look at her curiously. "Everything alright there?"

Nodding, Ino said in a small voice, "Yeah, everything's fine."

There were no windows in the basement of course; this was where they kept their most dangerous prisoners. Ibiki liked to be near the prisoners to ensure that they were safe under lock and key. Her father had been less interested in being the warden of the prison cells. He had happily delegated that out to his subordinate.

Karin motioned for her to head inside Ibiki's office first. For some reason, Ino felt irrationally nervous. The man stood up from his desk and walked over to stand in front of the two girls. "Glad to have you with us, Yamanaka."

Ino smiled faintly. "Glad to be of service."

Ibiki inclined his head and said, "Walk with me, ladies."

He swept out of the room and down towards the cellblock. Karin winked at her and followed after Ibiki. The tall tokubetsu jonin's black trench coat flapped behind him dramatically. Ino wondered vaguely if he used a little wind jutsu to make it do that. Would she have to start wearing a trench coat too? Walking next to her, Karin was also wearing one of those trench coats.

Ibiki stopped in front of the large gate to the prison cells accepting the keys from the short brown haired shinobi who the warden. Ibiki waved his hands between them. "Yamanaka Ino, meet Hasegawa Nobuo."

The short brown haired man grinned at her, taking his hand in hers. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ino-chan. I don't think we're acquainted."

Ino's lips formed a tense line. She didn't like the look of this man in the slightest. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Ino," called the man as he closed the door behind them.

As she followed Ibiki into the cell block, she looked around the place. It hadn't changed much since she had last visited with her father. It looked just like the cellblock she had constructed in her mind. Karin trailed behind them.

"So, Ino," said Ibiki stopping in front of cell block with a wretched looking man glaring out at them. His clothes hung off his body and his straggly hair fell across his face. "What do you know about mind wipes?"

"Mind wipes?" echoed Ino.

"Yes, mind wipes. Can you do them?" Ibiki demanded.

Ino glanced at the wretched prisoner in the cell. He glared daggers at her, but there was a note of fear in his eyes. It looked like he was wearing a brown flak vest. What country was this man from? Was it Ibiki who cowed him so or the thought of her destroying his mind? Finally, Ino nodded. "I've only done one or two with my dad supervising, but I suppose I could probably do one if you need me to."

"I want you to do one on this suspect here," Ibiki nodded at the prisioner.

The man jumped up with an animal-like howl to run at the bars. He grabbed onto them and hissed at her, "Just try it, blondie. When I get out of here I'll rip you to shreds. I hold you down and fuck you like the whore you are. You'll probably enjoy every minute of it," he said spitting at her.

She took a step back from the cell to avoid his spit. Lovely. First day on the job. "Who is this man?"

"He was the highest ranking ROOT member that we were able to capture. We've been able to extract considerable intel about their remaining forces and loyalties. We've detained nearly twenty moles from within out different departments. They're in the other cells."

"ROOT?" wondered Ino innocently. "They're still around? I thought they were decommissioned."

As she looked closer at the man, she realized that what she had first identified as a brown flak jacket was actually the silver flak jacket of ANBU. It was so smudged with dirt and mud from the cell that it merely looked brown.

The prisoner in the cell cackled, reaching out of the cell, trying to grab Ino. "We are the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth. You cannot rip out of the roots of the great tree. We'll just burrow deeper in the earth. Danzo's will lives on."

Ino crossed her arms over her chest. "How much do you want me to erase?"

"I want you to erase everything of his time at T&I."

Ino looked at Ibiki in surprise. "Are you releasing him back into Konoha? Is that wise?"

"We're hoping that he'll lead us back to the men now running the show," answered Ibiki.

"Won't they have realized that he's been captured and interrogated by us?"

"He was captured on the way to the Land of Hot Water to complete a secret mission for the new leader of Root. They'll merely think that he is returning from the mission."

"He looks completely ravaged, Ibiki-san," said Ino uncertainly, "must have been one hell of a mission he was on in the Land of Hot Water."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Karin sat in front of Ibiki's desk down in the Torture and Interrogation Department. She held the black trench coat the man at the front desk had handed her in her lap. Ibiki was a frightening man. He had been one of her very first dealings with Konoha ninjas after she had been brought to the village. He was tough as nails, but she could tell from his chakra that he was a teddy bear at heart._

_"Welcome to the Torture and Interrogation Department, Red. We're very excited about having the opportunity to work with you. Your sensory techniques are some of the best that I have ever seen. I've never know a ninja who could tell if someone was lying by merely reading their chakra."_

_"Thank you, Ibiki-san," Karin said. _

_"You will be debriefed more on this later, but I wanted to be the first to explain to you the important mission that we are currently working on for our Hokage. We plan to rotate you onto the project and have it be your primary job responsibility."_

_Karin nodded. _

_"Do you remember a man named Danzo?"_

_Karin pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "I remember Danzo."_

_Ibiki nodded. "I thought you might. That sort of experience is not easily forgotten. Danzo was a dangerous element within our village. He held a great deal of power and was able to operate unchecked for many years. We're not sure how deeply his corruption has rotted the foundations of the village."_

_"But Danzo is dead," said Karin. "I saw him die."_

_"Yes," agreed Ibiki. "He's dead, but his followers are still loyal to him. They're carrying on his legacy from beyond the grave. They've infiltrated nearly every department of Konoha, so we're not sure who we can trust." _


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews! I've been enjoying all the speculation about what's going on in the story. Does anyone have any good theories they'd like to share in the reviews section? Who is the father of Ino's baby? What's ROOT's plan/plans? Who are DRAGON, SPIDER, and POSSUM? How is Naruto going to solve the bijuu/jinchuriki problem? ****Who are Yamato's parents? Who's going to betray Sasuke?  
**

**Now some ShikaIno for you to enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three **

"Although the Knight is generally considered to be on a par with the Bishop in strength, the latter piece is somewhat stronger in the majority of cases in which they are opposed to each other." - Jose Capablanca

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

The Hyuga girl was sitting next to him in the ANBU lounge, reading through the mission specs. She closed the folder and said, "This doesn't look all that bad. I will be able to complete the portion of the mission that requires my Byakugan well enough."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'd hope so. It's the easiest part of the mission. I'd wonder at you being accepting into ANBU if you were incapable of even that."

Hinata frowned down at her hands. She had bound them in tape this morning. They were probably stinging from the thousand or so hits she had taken during their last kenjutsu lesson. She was a quick learner, but she was nowhere near as strong or quick as him. If she improved in that, she would be a pretty good kunoichi.

When they walked into the ANBU lounge, a quick glare from him sent the other ANBU out of the room. They didn't fancy spending any extra time with a frightening and testy Uchiha. ANBU were elite, but there were few who could stand up to his might when he was in a mood. He didn't mind this reputation. He had cultivated it; it was nice to have a little privacy from time to time. The pretty Hyuga girl was quiet and didn't get on his nerves as much as some of the other ninjas tended to. She was respectful and wasn't clingy.

Sasuke picked up the sword leaning against her chair. As he unsheathed it and tested its balance, he said, "You're going to have to train harder. You won't be able to so easily replace a sword on a mission."

This was the second time that she'd needed to replace her sword. They had only been training for a week or so. It wasn't a very good track record. When he commanded her to channel her chakra through her blade and then did the same himself with his chidori current, her blades hadn't stood a chance. He cut through them like butter.

"I've been working on channeling my chakra through the blades," she said, "but it's just not as strong as your chidori current."

Sasuke handed the sword back to her. Closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall, he proclaimed, "Water nature's not as good as Lightening."

"Kami, you can be such an asshole, Uchiha," said a cold voice in front of him.

Opening his eyes, he saw Nara Shikamaru glaring down at him. Sasuke smirked slightly. He wasn't sure why, but Nara Shikamaru despised him. It was sort of amusing. The Nara man could out think him sure enough, but he was no match for Sasuke in battle. Nara Shikamaru was one of Kakashi's advisors. Yamato, the ANBU commander, would sometimes consult Shikamaru when trying to assign a particularly difficult ANBU mission. The Nara man was one of those crazy strategic geniuses just like Sasuke's brother Itachi had been.

"What do you want, Nara?" asked Sasuke. "I'm a little busy right now," he said, inclining his head at Hinata, "talking with my teammate about her kenjutsu training."

"Trust you to think that berating and belittling someone is training," said the Nara man coldly.

Sasuke smirked. "Taking offense at a slight to water jutsu, Nara? Am I insulting your jutsu?"

The Nara man crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm a fire and earth type, but that's not the issue. I need to talk with you about something in private."

When Sasuke heard the words 'in private,' he smirked wider. "Anything you have to say, you can say in front of her."

The Nara man looked taken back. He probably hadn't anticipated their meeting going this way. It amused Sasuke. Nara Shikamaru could think ten moves ahead. This would throw some of his plans out the window.

Taking it in stride, the Nara man asked, "Hinata, would you mind-"

Sasuke grabbed her arm as she made to stand. Smirking wider, he said, "Just spit it out, Nara."

The Hyuga girl sat back in her chair tensely.

After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Nara Shikamaru demanded, "How good are you at forging documents, Uchiha?"

"Is this a test of loyalty?" wondered Sasuke. "Are you accusing me of something, Nara? Why don't you just spit it out? What am I supposed to have done?"

The Nara genius looked annoyed. "I'm not accusing you of anything, Uchiha. I'm just asking you a simple question. Feeling guilty about something?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You don't like me that much, do you, Nara?"

"Not in the least," the Nara genius agreed. "I think you're an asshole."

Next to him, Hinata let out of a little squeak of horror. Sasuke sneered at him. "Are you worried that I'll steal that pretty little blonde thing away from you?"

The other man narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't bring Ino into this."

Sasuke could feel his smirk widening. "I could if I wanted to, you know. It would be easy. If I asked her to, she'd ditch you in a heartbeat for me."

The Nara man took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper in check. "I'm not here to fight with you, Uchiha."

"You say that like you think you could win." Sasuke sneered.

Hyuga Hinata put a hand on Sasuke's arm. "Please don't antagonize him, Sasuke-sempai." Looking up at the Nara, she asked, "What was it that you wanted to ask Sasuke, Shikamaru?"

"I want you to forge a document for me."

Sasuke laughed out loud, "What makes you think that I can even forge something?"

The Nara man smirked at him. "Kenta, your previous ANBU captain, died under suspicious circumstances; though not before writing you a glowing letter of recommendation after your one month probationary period was over."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Sasuke. "Kenta died on a mission that I didn't even participate in because you and Yamato didn't trust me."

"You have to admit that you profited from his death."

"Yes, I passed my probation, but I would have anyway because Kenta had already written my letter of recommendation. Watanabe Shinju benefited more from Kenta's death and he was on the mission with him. He became a captain after Kenta's death."

"Shinju is not the issue," said the Nara. "The issue is that letter of recommendation. I haven't told Yamato, but I know that document is a forgery. The handwriting is flawless to be sure, but you were careless when it came to the writing style. You used several phrases that Kenta would not have."

"Is that why you're here? You're accusing me of forging my captain's evaluation?"

"That's not the reason," continued the Nara man, "But I want you to forge another document using Kenta's handwriting. I'll tell you what to write. I don't want this one to seem like a forgery. You can use your Sharingan to mimic handwriting, can't you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I've never tried, but assume that I could in theory."

The other man smirked at him. "I suppose it's fortunate for me that you watched Kenta write out mission reports with your Sharingan activated."

Sasuke blinked in reply. That Nara Shikamaru was a clever bastard to be sure. "So you're blackmailing me to forge this document for you."

"Yes," said the other man.

"I'm surprised at you, Nara," said Sasuke sitting back in his chair, "resorting to forgery and blackmail in one fell swoop. What could be so important that you're willing to risk that much for it?"

"That's none of your concern," spat the other man. "Will you do it?"

Sasuke peered at the other man. He was intrigued. Nara Shikamaru was not a man to cross, but he would be a great ally to have. "I'll do it. But I'll expect something in return for my assistance and my silence."

Nara Shikamaru glared at the other man. "What sort of favor?"

Sasuke shrugged, smirking slightly. "I haven't thought of it yet." The Nara man looked uneasy; he had every right not to trust him. Sasuke rose to his feet and held out a hand. "Do we have a deal then?"

The other man grasped Sasuke's hand tightly as they glared at each other. "We have a deal."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke stood in front of Yamato's desk. "What's all this about a mind wipe? Is it a bluff or is it something that can actually be done?"_

_Yamato put down his papers. He looked up at the last Uchiha curiously. "Why do you ask?"_

_Sasuke closed the door behind him and sat down in front of Yamato's desk. "I want one."_

_Yamato blinked at him in surprise. "You want to leave ANBU?"_

_"No," said Sasuke. "I just want a couple memories erased."_

_"That's quite irregular," Yamato countered wryly. "Most people don't come into my office asking for their brains to be wiped."_

_"I'm not most people."_

_Yamato stared at the young man, trying to betray the seriousness of the request in his solemn gaze. "You realize that if anything goes wrong with the procedure, memories that you don't want to be erased may be taken too?"_

_"I'm prepared for that contingency."_

_"And that these memories can never be returned to you? They'll be erased forever?"_

_"That's what I want," said Sasuke._

_With a sigh, Yamato stood up from his desk and went to gaze out the window. When he didn't reply immediately, Sasuke walked over to stand beside him. "I won't change my mind."_

_"You won't be able to after the procedure's complete," said Yamato._

_"I'm sure about this. I'll sign your waivers. Just help me remove these memories."_

_Still staring out into village, Yamato said, "This is about your memories of Itachi and the massacre isn't it? I heard that he used Tsukuyomi on you that day to force you to relive his experience of the massacre."_

_"Yes. I want that memory gone and the memory of our final battle. I'll never forgive myself for killing him and I can't stop thinking about it."_

_"And you want me to remove those memories so you won't have to remember them? There are other ways, meditation and compartmentalization, that can be equally effective and much less permanent."_

_"I've tried and they don't work."_

_Yamato took a deep breath and sighed before saying, "Have I told you about where I came from, Sasuke?"_

_Sasuke sighed heavily and crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted his memories wiped, not to hear another poor fool's sob story. Maybe he could have his memory of this wiped too. What was it with people wasting his time with their tragic histories? Leaning against the windowsill, he said, "No you haven't. But I don't see how this could be relevant."_

_"I'm an orphan like you. I don't have any memories of my parents. I can't remember what my mother's or father's faces looked like. Yamanaka Inoichi had even looked through my mind, but he wasn't able to find anything. They must have died before my infant mind was able to start forming memories. The only information I have about my parents is from my time in Orochimaru's lab."_

_Sasuke twisted his head to the side to look at Yamato in shock. "Orochimaru?"_

_"Yes," said Yamato. "I was one of his experiments. Orochimaru had extracted some of Senju Hashirama's DNA and wanted to see if he could manufacture a Mokuton user. His fifty-nine other attempts were unsuccessful. You must have wondered how I achieved my Mokuton."_

_"I didn't realize," said Sasuke. Okay, this was becoming interesting._

_"I remember the fear and the pain and the sickness, the bodies of all the other children around me. He thought that I was dead too, so they tossed me in the room with the other bodies. I woke up smothered by the bodies of the other dead children. I was eight years old."_

_Sasuke gazed out the window with Yamato. "I saw many terrible things during my time with Orochimaru. My friends Suigetsu and Karin were his experiments too. I'm glad that Itachi removed his cursed seal from me."_

_"That was fortunate," agreed Yamato._

_"Why would you want to keep those memories if they were so painful?" asked Sasuke. "You were just a child. You could have had Yamanaka Inoichi wipe them for you."_

_"Because interspersed with those are other memories are conversations that Orochimaru had with his helpers. It was Danzo who had asked Orochimaru to complete this particular experiment. I was an orphan, but Danzo had always taken an interest in me. I don't know how, but Danzo must have known who my mother was because he thought that I would have the most chance of being a successful experiment. He told me that my mother had named me Yamamoto Butsuma: Yamamoto in memory of my mother's family and Butsuma after my father's father."_

_"So your name really is Butsuma."_

_"Yes."_

_"But you have a last name now, and your grandfather's name. Surely that would help you to find out who your family was."_

_"Yamamoto is a very common name. In Konoha alone, there are fifty Yamamoto families."_

_"Ah," said Sasuke. "And Butsuma?" _

_"There have been no known civilians or __shinobi _of Konoha with that name."

_"Oh," said Sasuke._

_"I don't know anything about who I am, who my parents were. All I know about them are my memories from my time as Orochimaru's experiment. They're my most painful memories, but I wouldn't give them up for anything. They're the only tie that I have to my family. If I forget them, if I forget the pain, I may never have any chance of finding who I am. These memories of your brother might be more painful than anything you know, but someday, you will be glad that you still have them."_

_"I don't know if I can wait that long," said Sasuke._

_Yamato put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Well come back to me next year. If you still want to have your memories wiped then, I'll arrange it."_

_"Thank you, Yamato."_

_"You're welcome, Sasuke."_

_Sasuke walked out of the office feeling less conclusive than when he had entered. Could he be sure of what he wanted in a year? He couldn't imagine missing the memories, but they were what little remained of Itachi. His entire clan was gone, it wouldn't be right to erase his memory of them as well. _

_Yamamoto Butsuma, what a strange name. He felt like he had heard that name Butsuma before but he couldn't remember where._

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

"Here you are," said Shikamaru looking very agitated. "I've been looking all over for you."

Putting her hands on her hips, Ino quirked a half smile. "After going to all the trouble of ensuring that I joined the Torture and Interrogation Unit, I'm surprised that you'd already forgotten about it."

Looking to the left and right and then pushing her into a closet, Shikamaru closed the door behind her and pushed her farther in. Her back hit against a shelf of reports and some of them fell to the floor behind her.

"What on earth are you doing?" snapped Ino. "Are you trying to get me in trouble on my first day?"

"Be quiet, I'm trying to make sure that we weren't followed."

She was silent. The only sound in the closet was the steady whisper of their breathing. There weren't any noises coming from the hallway outside. Ino was so aware of his body pressed against hers. She couldn't move at all with the shelves behind her and the hard planes of Shikamaru's chest in front. What a nice chest it was, she thought, unzipping his flak jacket slowly.

"What are you doing?" whispered Shikamaru, his voice unsteady.

"Who are we supposed to be listening for?" Ino hissed back, her hands slipping underneath his shirt to slide up his chest. One naughty hand slipped underneath the elastic of his pants.

"Stop that," Shikamaru hissed out. "I don't want to be discovered. I need to tell you something important. We can't be overheard."

"Then tell me," said Ino, laying kisses along his jaw. "What's so secret that you needed to pull me into a closet to tell me?"

"I-um," said Shikamaru, distracted as she started to stroke his cock with her fingers. He was becoming hard already under her ministrations.

"Is this it?" whispered Ino seductively in his ear. "Did you drag me in here to fuck me against the wall?"

"Ino," he gasped out, pressing his forehead against hers.

Ino felt like a goddess as she pressed her body into his and brought him closer to completion with every stroke of her hand. His grip was tight on her hips and he was beginning to pant and moan into her ear. She felt sexy and desirable; something she hadn't felt for a while since she started to show. She was glad that Shikamaru still felt desire for her even though she felt like she was big as a house.

"It's alright," she continued in a seductive whisper, enjoying his hot breaths on her cheek. "I want you to. I want you to pound into me, Shikamaru, until I don't know what way is up and which is down."

There was a flurry of kissing, caressing, and disrobing; shirts and flak vests went flying across the room as they ripped them off each other. He stepped back to help her step out of her pants. Ino grumbled at her stupid pants and finally gave up by kicking off her sandals and then her pants.

He grabbed her waist, slamming her back against the shelving. She gasped out as the breath was ripped from her. He chuckled quietly before kissing her again and pulling her body closer to his. As she wrapped a leg around his hips, she could feel his erection pressing hard against her belly.

Panting, Ino wriggled a bit and shifted her hips. Shikamaru gripped her hips as he lifted her slightly to align their bodies like puzzle pieces. He sank into her, letting out a low moan. Ino gasped out as she angled her hips to increase the depth of his thrusts.

"Oh, Shika," she cried out. She clung onto him desperately, gasping and moaning in his ear. She claimed his mouth in a kiss, loving the feel of being pressed so closely to him and the sound of their slick bodies slapping against each other. She pulled out his ponytail and ran her fingers through his loosened hair as she kissed him deeply.

"Oh, Kami," growled out Shikamaru, kissing a line to her ear, "You're so sexy, Ino."

He kissed his way back to her mouth, his tongue thrusting into her mouth just as his cock was thrusting deep into her sex. With a husky moan, she flung her head against the wall as he hit that particular spot, stunning herself for a moment unintentionally. She moaned half in pain, half in pleasure. She let out a keening cry as he plunged into her again and again.

She was losing her mind. It was so full of him; she was so full of him. She couldn't escape; she wasn't sure that she wanted to. He lifted her other leg and wrapped it around him as he continued to pound into her. Overwhelmed by the delicious friction and the new angle he was hitting, Ino raked her nails into his back savagely. As he panted into her shoulder, she could feel his lips quirk upwards in a smirk as she gasped and moaned and keened and cried out his name. Finally surrendering, she shrieked his name out in ecstasy. He followed her soon after.

Afterwards he leaned heavily against the wall, still inside her. His weight was the only thing supporting her. He slipped out of her and helped her back to her feet. She could feel the sticky sensation of his cum and her arousal dribbling down her thigh. She slid down the wall, utterly spent.

He pulled her back into his arms where she rested her head against his shoulder with a contented sigh. "I hope you visit me like this at work more often. I like this side of you."

Pulling away finally, she went to look for her clothes. Shikamaru chucked to himself as he pulled back up his pants and slipped his arms into his long sleeve shirt and flak vest.

Ino stood in front of him holding a second flak vest. "That one's mine."

"Oh," said Shikamaru, taking it off and handing it to her. He helped her arms into the sleeves before zipping up his own vest. She leaned down to slip on her ninja sandals.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a voice as the door to the closet opened.

Shikamaru and Ino stiffened as light flooded the room. Ino tried to straighten her hair as Shikamaru zipped up her flak jacket. Mitarashi Anko leaned in the doorway, smirking at them.

"I must say, Ino-chan, I'm impressed. It's only your first day and you're already sneaking your boyfriend in to fuck you against the wall in one the basement closets. I think we're going to get along really well."

"I—I—" began Ino.

"It's alright, sweetheart," continued Anko. "It's not like I've never done it before. Besides, if I turned you in it would be horribly hypocritical. I've put off work plenty of times to do have a little afternoon delight with my lover too. Just remember to put up a genjutsu next time so people can't hear you. You scream really loud, Ino-chan."

Blushing scarlet, Ino said, "I'm so sorry."

"No it's alright," continued Anko, "there's plenty of screaming around this place. Though the cries are usually in pain and not in ecstasy." Anko waved a hand at them before walking down the hall. "Later, kids, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Nice hair, Shikamaru," she called down the hallway.

Ino gaped after her and Shikamaru ran a hand through his loosened hair. Turning to Ino, he wondered, "Do you have my hair tie?"

Pulling it off her wrist, she handed it to him. She leaned back, resting her head against the wall of the closet and closing her eyes. "Wow, that Mitarashi Anko is scary. We'll have to use a genjutsu next time like she said."

His hair now pulled back into his usual ponytail, Shikamaru stepped closer to her. Resting his hand and forearm against the wall, he leaned in. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes, waiting for him to kiss her. Brushing back her long bang form her sweaty forehead, he whispered in her ear, "If anyone asks, we're married."

Her eyes flew open and her jaw dropped in surprise. When Shikamaru figured out that she was having a baby, he's never once mentioned faking a marriage. He usually just proposed a real marriage. "What!" she gasped. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"If anyone asks you, we're married. We got married in secret on March 30th in Konoha before the war broke out and we got deployed. It had to be in secret because our fathers didn't approve. They thought we were too young to get married. Choji was the witness and the presider was a shinobi named Kenta who died on an ANBU mission last month," whispered Shikamaru.

"Why March 30th?" wondered Ino. If that was to be they backstory, they'd have to push it back more. She was already four weeks along on March 30th. Though they could always say the babies were premature. That would actually make more sense.

"It was the first time we made love. A date we're likely to remember," he said.

"Have you lost your mind?" she hissed back at him.

He continued, paying little attention to her interruption, "I'm going to have the marriage license forged today. I've already asked Uchiha Sasuke do it."

"Sasuke?"

"He's the only one who could," Shikamaru explained. "I had to pull some strings, and will probably regret it, but he's agreed to do it."

"I don't understand," whispered Ino. Shikamaru wasn't likely do something without a good reason. It sounded like this was for another reason besides her pregnancy. "Why do we need marriage papers? What's going on?"

"The Konoha Council's arranged a marriage for you to a ninja from another village. All those papers have been signed so you're legally promised to him. This is the only way I can think of to prevent that from happening."

"By pretending to be my husband?" Ino whispered back. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

She was touched by his selfless act. He leaned closer to her, his eyes softening before he kissed her tenderly on the mouth. "This is what I want, Ino, more than I've wanted anything before."

"Shikamaru," teased the blonde girl. "When you ask a girl to marry you, aren't you supposed to get down on one knee?"

He leaned his forehead against hers, rubbing a hand on her stomach. "I love you, Yamanaka Ino, and I'll love our baby. I can't believe it's taken me so long to realize that you're pregnant. Some kind of genius I am."

She frowned at him and put a finger to his forehead.

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four **

"You work for a long period of time and the results don't really show, but at some point everything just comes together and you start to play better, or get more confidence." - Fabiano Caruana

* * *

**Interlude**

_The Hyuga girl was doing better with her kenjutsu practice. It might have been because he had switched up her weapons after breaking the fourth sword. The ANBU armory was going to run out of weapons if he kept slicing through them with his chidori infused blades._

_"I've got these wakizashi for you today. They're longer than tanto but shorter than the katana we've been using," he explained. "I think they'll suit you better. Your fighting style and fighting instincts are all related to your Hyuga gentle first style. In other words, you work best in close combat."_

_The girl nodded. Her hair was tied back into a high ponytail like he required. It swayed back and forth slightly on the breeze. "That's what I've been trying to explain to you. Those katana are uncomfortable because they kept the enemy at arm's length. My every instinct is telling me to get closer to the enemy so I can finish them off with a Jyuken strike."_

_"Hn," said Sasuke. "You should have told me that earlier. Now you've wasted four swords and many hours of my time."_

_The girl looked like she couldn't decide if she wanted to yell at him or if she wanted to cry. "I didn't know," she finally said. "I thought you said that we all needed to be proficient with katana, so I was just going to grin and bear it."_

_"Proficiency with kenjutsu is required," corrected Sasuke. "That can be with a tanto, katana, or wakizashi."_

_The girl nodded, taking the two short swords out of their scabbards and tossing the scabbards to the side. "Did you get two so that when you break it, we don't have to stop early?" Hinata wondered._

_Sasuke shook his head. "No, you'll be fighting with both swords."_

_"Oh," said girl. "I suppose it's worth a try."_

_"And try not to mess up, Hyuga. If you make me break these we'll be replacing twice as many weapons."_

_The girl flipped the wakizashi in her hands and took a ready stance in front of him. "I like the feel of these better."_

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

Hinata really felt like she was improving with her kenjutsu training. She had been sparring with wakizashi swords for three days now and she hadn't broken one yet. That had to be a record. Sasuke usually destroyed a sword just about every day.

She also felt like she was showing real progress. Sasuke was rolling his eyes at her less and less. He also seemed to be fighting better. She hadn't realized, but he had slowed down his speed and lessened his strength and skill so that he was just a touch better than her. As she improved, he allowed himself to use more of his true skill. She could tell that he was enjoying himself more now that he wasn't holding back quite as much.

The only people who weren't overly enthusiastic about her kenjutsu progress were the other members of her team, Shinju-taicho and Takeshi. They were cordial enough, but cold towards her. Maybe that was part of being ANBU. She tolerated it well enough.

She had only been on two missions with her team thus far. Each time, they had a tendency to pair off. Sasuke would drag her off with him rather than having to deal with Shinju or Takeshi. They mostly left each other alone, but they would sometimes pass the time by having little conversations.

The reason for Shinju and Takeshi's annoyance was the fact Sasuke's mandatory practices with her were delaying them from going on missions. Sasuke and Shinju got on like oil and water; she had a sneaky suspicion that Sasuke was using these practices as a way to piss off their ANBU captain. Because Sasuke was Hinata's official instructor, he was able to schedule their trainings in such a way to interfere with Shinju's schedule.

Standing across from Sasuke on the practice field, Hinata drew her twin swords. "Ready, Sasuke-sempai?"

He quirked a smile. "Do your worst, Hyuga."

She grinned at him. "I have a new trick that I want to try out."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke said, "Alright. Show me what you got."

He sent a current of regular chakra down his long blade and held it lose, ready to strike or parry if necessary. She twirled her short swords and started to gather chakra in her hands. His eyes bled into the Sharingan as he watched with interest as two huge shrouds of chakra started to form around her hands like boxing gloves.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I'll need to think of a new name for it. It's my Jūho Sōshiken," she explained. Her chakra was starting to form what looked like lion's heads around her wrists.

"They look like boxing gloves," said Sasuke.

She came at him, channeling chakra through the blades of her wakizashi and with the lion headed chakra boxing gloves on her wrists. She twisted nimbly under his first strike. His Sharingan tracked her movements, ducking and parrying out of the way of her blades and the back of her hands as she wielded the chakra shrouds around her fists like boxing gloves.

He jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a blow that would have doubled him up. He put a hand to the shoulder of his sword arm, where she had pricked him with her sword. It felt numb.

She nodded at his shoulder, smirking. "I closed the chakra point there."

He switched his sword to his other hand. "Not bad. I guess I'll need to start getting serious."

She twirled the swords around in her hands again, "If you want to win."

He chuckled wryly. "Alright then, you're asking for it, Hyuga."

He sent a burst of lightening style chakra through his sword and ran at her. He was a blur. She barely had time to put up both of her sword to block the swing of his sword. Her twin swords made a terrifying creaking noise as they tried to hold back his chidori infused blade. He was bearing down on her; his brute strength greatly exceeded hers.

She tucked and twirled and twisted to get out of the way of his sword. She couldn't have another pair of blades destroyed by his damn lightening style chakra. She channeled more of her chakra into the blades, trying to stabilize them.

He was on her again before she could blink: parry, lunge, feint, coup, parry, counter-parry, reposte and parry. He cut a slice across her cheek; she closed a chakra point on his forearm. One of her swords went spinning off into the trees.

Finally they stood facing each other. His sword was against her neck. The crackling of his chidori current sending shivers down her spine as it danced so close to her skin. Her sword was at neck and her free hand was resting on his chest just over his heart. Her lion shaped boxing glove was ready to deliver a Jyuken strike to the heart.

He was looking down at her with a strange expression. "I guess that means it's a tie. Not bad, Hyuga."

"Thanks, Sasuke-sempai," she said.

He pulled back his sword and let the lightening current fade. He held up the handsign for a shunshin. Before he was lost in a puff of smoke, he said "See you tomorrow."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Naruto plopped down in the chair next to Sasuke in the ANBU lounge. "Oi, teme, you look like someone kicked your puppy. What's up?"_

_Sasuke looked down at his hands. "Shut up, dobe, and mind your own business."_

_"Seriously, though," continued Naruto. "Is something wrong?"_

_"My ANBU captain was killed in our last mission."_

_"What!" gasped Naruto. "Kenta-sempai? But he was the coolest. How could he die in a mission?"_

_"The man was human, just like everyone else. It sounded like they had bad intel and found themselves in hot water."_

_"Oh, they were in the Land of Hot Water, were they? Kakashi-sensei's been telling me about some sort of coup 'd'état that's going over there right now."_

_"It's an expression, dobe - finding yourself in hot water." _

_"Oh, so it wasn't in the Land of Hot Water."_

_Sasuke put a hand to his head. "It's an expression, but they were in the Land of Hot Water when it happened."_

_"Now I'm confused. I thought you just said—"_

_"Are you trying to annoy me intentionally?" snapped Sasuke._

_Naruto grinned. "Trying to cheer you up. Is it not working?"_

_"No, it's not. Can you just go fuck off, Naruto?" Sasuke yelled. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."_

_The three other ANBU ninja in the lounge grabbed their things and ran out of the room. It was usually best to avoid Sasuke when he was in one of those moods._

_"You sure know how to clear a room, teme," said Naruto._

_Sasuke's eyes flashed red with the Sharingan. "Still here, dobe?"_

_Watching the other ANBU clear the room, Naruto turned to Sasuke with a satisfied smile that was very suspicious. Naruto continued, "Now that Kenta's dead, what's going to happen with your evaluation after your probationary period? You're just about done, right?"_

_Sasuke put his head in his hands. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Shinju is such a dick. He'll probably give me a bad recommendation just to spite me and Takeshi is spineless, so he'll just go along with what Shinju says."_

_Naruto looked uneasy. "You know if you don't pass, they can wipe your memories."_

_"Don't you think I know that?" Sasuke spat._

_Naruto looked around the room as if to assure himself that everyone had in fact left and no one was hiding under a chair. Satisfied, he mused quietly. "You and Kenta were pretty close right?"_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yes. He was one of the only ninjas that I actually respected and enjoyed working with around here. Trying to rub it in, Naruto-baka?"_

_Naruto shrugged. "You've probably helped him write missions reports? Or at least read his mission reports?"_

_Sasuke sighed in annoyance. Would Naruto never leave? Finally, Sasuke said, "So?"_

_"Maybe with your Sharingan activated?"_

_"I guess," said Sasuke. "Why?"_

_Naruto grinned. "Because, teme, that means you can write his recommendation for him. You've probably helped him write mission reports before right? It's like the same thing."_

_Sasuke snorted. "It is not the same thing at all."_

_Naruto shrugged. "But you should probably do it anyway."_

_"I'll think about it."_

_Naruto looked around the room. "Try to get it done tonight and sneak it into Kenta's desk or apartment. They're going to start packing up his possessions tomorrow. It'll be good if they find it then and not afterwards. It would be suspicious otherwise."_

_Sasuke looked at Naruto curiously. "Have you done this before?"_

_Naruto waved a hand at him. "I was an orphan. I had to forge all kinds of things to make sure I got to do things I wanted to. I probably won't be as good at it as you though. And you don't even have to try. You have that stupid Sharingan to make it easy."_

_For the first time that day, Sasuke smiled._


	25. Chapter 25

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five **

"I cannot think that a player genuinely loving the game can get pleasure just from the number of points scored no matter how impressive the total. I will not speak of myself, but for the masters of the older generation, from whose games we learned, the aesthetic side was the most important." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

It had been a weird week. It started off with him getting Sasuke to forge a marriage certificate for him – that was surely going to come back to haunt him – and then having sex with Ino against the wall of a closet in T&I before telling her that they were getting a secret fake marriage certificate. Was it a secret fake marriage certificate or a fake secret marriage certificate?

The marriage certificate was forged with little trouble; however, there was a great to do after Koharu and Homaru were found dead in their office a couple days later. There had been belladonna in the tea.

He had gone to Kakashi's office and answered a couple questions, but the whole affair was hushed up quickly. Shikamaru knew that he and Ino hadn't been involved. Had Kakashi or Yamato finally lost patience and put a hit out on the Konoha Council?

Kakashi joked about it all the time. Was he capable of such a thing?

The only reason why they would have hushed it up so quickly was because they thought he and Ino had done it and didn't want either of them to get arrested or because Kakashi or Yamato had authorized it and wanted people to stop asking questions.

He was now sitting at the front desk of Ino's flower shop. Choji's class was helping to clean up Yamanaka flowers for Ino. It was good practice for the tedium and boredom of future D rank missions. Choji was in the backroom supervising the boys and girls sweeping up some of the flower cuttings and dirt.

Ino had gotten home early from the Torture and Interrogation department, so she was helping out too. Ino much preferred helping with Choji's class when Choji was there to deal with the more rowdy children. She had bemoaned all the trouble they had been in the couple of days that she was watching them almost two weeks ago, but even still the whole class adored her.

Shikamaru suspected that just about all of the little boys in the class had crushes on the blonde kunoichi and all the little girls wanted to grow up to be just like her. Shikamaru smiled at where Ino was sitting in the middle of the shop with a little strawberry blonde haired girl in her lap. She braided the girl's hair as two of the other girls in the class were braiding her own blonde locks. They had pounced on Ino when she walked in. Choji let them cling onto his friend while he was supervising the other students in the backroom.

And what was Shikamaru doing?

He was sitting at the front desk weaving flower chains with a little girl from Choji's class. She was a shy little Hyuga girl named Hoshi who reminded him a lot of their friend Hyuga Hinata. He was just sitting there twisting flowers and smiling stupidly at Ino.

He was glad Choji was in the backroom because he would have teased him mercilessly about it. Choji was already giving him a hard time about the marriage certificate that he had forged the other day. The Akimichi thought the whole thing was hilarious.

"So was I your fake best man, Shikamaru?" Choji had asked. "I'm glad that you and Ino had thought to include me in your fake wedding."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I don't see why it's so funny. I'm just trying to keep Ino from having to marry some Kumo ninja that she doesn't like just because Utatane Koharu is a scheming old crone."

"Meh," said Choji. "You're doing it because you're crazy about her."

Shikamaru muttered to himself all the way home. Sasuke had been insufferable; he didn't expect him best friend to be equally so.

"Ino-sensei," chirped one of the dark haired girls braiding her hair. "Are you going to come back to teach our class? We miss you."

"I would like to, Maiko-chan," said the blonde kunoichi. Shikamaru smiled to himself. She was obviously lying. She had told him she's rather shave her head than ever teach at the academy again. "But I've started working at the Intelligence Division."

The little girl sitting in her lap turned around, "But Maiko, remember what Choji-sensei said? He said that we'll be able to help Ino-sensei in the flower shop and that she might even get to teach us ikebana and hanakotoba."

"Ikebana is flower arranging," explained the brown haired girl braiding Ino's hair to Maiko. "But what is hanakotoba, Katsumi-chan?"

The strawberry blonde haired girl Katsumi beamed and said, "My mom was telling we about it when we bought flowers at Ino-sensei's shop last week, Yoko-chan! Hanakotoba is the language of flowers. Kinda like how roses mean love!"

Shikamaru finished his little crown of forget-me-nots and handed it to little Hyuga Hoshi sitting next to him. "Why don't you go play with the other girls? You can give this to Ino-sensei for me."

The little girl put down her daisy chain and blinked huge Byakugan eyes at him. He winked and placed her little daisy chain like a crown on her read. She smiled at him. "Okay, Shikamaru-sensei."

She hopped off the stool and ran over to the other girls. With her exquisitely blue eyes shining, Ino beamed at the little girl. "Hi there, Hoshi-chan. Have you come to play with us? What do you have there?"

The little girl blinked and held out the chain of forget-me-nots. "Shikamaru-sensei wanted me to give this to you."

"Thank you, Hoshi-chan!" said Ino with a grin. Ino placed it on her head like Hoshi's was and winked up at Shikamaru. "Thanks, Shikamaru-sensei!"

"Hoshi," said the brown haired Yoko, "come help me and Maiko braid Ino-sensei's hair."

The little Hyuga girl grinned and ran over. It went much smoother now that each girl held a segment of Ino's long hair as they tried to make a French braid.

The strawberry blonde, Katsumi, turned around in Ino's lap and hugged her around the middle. "Those blue flowers are really pretty, what are they?"

"They're forget-me-nots," said Hoshi. "Shikamaru-sensei told me."

"Do you know what forget-me-nots mean, Hoshi-chan?" wondered Ino.

The little Hyuga girl shook her head. "What do forget-me-nots mean, Ino-sensei?"

Ino smiled at Shikamaru and said, "Forget-me-nots mean true love!"

The little girls all called out excitedly. Running in front of Ino, they jumped up and down excitedly.

"Is Shikamaru-sensei your boyfriend?"

"Do you love Shikamaru-sensei, Ino-sensei?"

"Are you going to marry Shikamaru-sensei?"

"Can we be in your wedding, Ino-sensei?"

Shikamaru blushed at their little girl's excited exclamations. Ino merely laughed and said, "I'm sorry, darlings, but you can't be in our wedding because we're already married."

"What!" cried out the girls in shock.

Choji and the rest of the class chose that moment to enter the front of the shop. Some of the boys were covered in soil and Choji had what looked suspiciously like handprints all down his front. It looked like the kids had gotten into everything in the back of the shop. It was good that Ino had moved all her poisonous plants and serums upstairs to her apartment.

"What's all the excitement about in here?" wondered Choji.

The little strawberry blonde Katsumi and the dark haired Maiko ran up to Choji and pulled on his arm. "Choji-sensei, Choji-sensei, did you know that Ino-sensei and Shikamaru-sensei are married!" Katsumi demanded. Hoshi took the opportunity to sit down in Ino's lap now that Katsumi had vacated it.

Choji laughed at the amused smile of Shikamaru. "Of course I did, Katsumi-chan."

"What!" gasped out Maiko. "How did you know and we didn't?"

"Because I was there, Maiko-chan."

Two of the other little girls who had been helping out in the backroom ran over to jump on Ino too. She blinked in alarm as they ran over and hugged her around the chest. "I didn't know you were married, Ino-sensei," one of them said.

One of the little boys looked decidedly put out. His white hair rioted around his face as he stomped his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Shikamaru. "You're not supposed to be married to Ino-sensei, Shikamaru-sensei! I wanted to marry Ino-sensei!"

Shikamaru put up his hands in mock alarm. "Troublesome."

"We're rivals now, Shikamaru-sensei," said the little boy.

Choji laughed, "Alright, kids, I think you're scaring Ino-sensei and Shikamaru-sensei. Let's say our goodbyes. You can fight Shikamaru-sensei to the death another time, Kichiro."

Shikamaru received a number of death threats from the other little boys in the class. It was good he was sitting on the stool behind the counter; it made it more difficult for him to be assaulted by all the broken hearted little boys of Choji's class. Ino, on the other hand, was sitting in the middle of the shop. She got mobbed on the way out by Choji's class.

"I'll be seeing you, Shikamaru-sensei," said Kichiro with a glare before Choji grabbed him and pulled him and out the door.

After the class was gone, Ino climbed to her feet stiffly and walked over to him. She sat sideways in his lap and put her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head back against him. The chain of forget-me-nots he had woven for her had gotten dislodged in the commotion. "Troublesome," she muttered.

He chuckled wryly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "I wouldn't have you any other way, Ino-sensei."

She kissed him on the chin. "What should we make for dinner?"

He tugged her closer to him. "I thought we'd have dinner at my house tonight. I'm sure my mom would love to meet my secret fake wife."

She giggled. "So have we come to a consensus? Is it secret fake marriage or fake secret marriage? I thought you were my fake secret husband and not my secret fake husband."

"Well fake secret wife, would you like to meet your secret fake mother-in-law?"

* * *

**Interlude**

_Ino was grabbing onto his arm like it was the only lifeline keeping her adrift in a stormy sea. Both Yamanaka Inoichi's and Nara Shikaku's bodies had finally been uncovered from the rubble. She was staring with shock at the body of her father. It was almost unrecognizable. _

_Their bodies had been together when they found them under all the twisted metal and smoking drywall. It was comforting to know that their fathers at least were able to die side by side with their best friends. _

_Mei Terumi was crying over the body of Ao and Darui was kneeling reverently next to Mabui's body. C of Kumogakure had made his way over to where Ino and Shikamaru were standing. Putting a hand on Ino's shoulder, he asked quietly. "I'm so sorry about your father, Ino."_

_She turned to the blonde haired Kumo shinobi with a watery smile, Shikamaru let go of her arm and took a step away from them. "Thanks, C," she said simply. The Kumo ninja pulled the blonde girl to his chest and she wept bitterly into it. "Why did it have to be him? Why did they have to target headquarters? I thought he'd be safe there."_

_The blonde haired Kumo shinobi looked down at Ino's head and whispered words of comfort into her ear. Shikamaru felt an irrational urge to pull Ino away from the other shinobi and punch him in the face. Was that PTSD or just irrational jealousy? _

_Darui walked up to the trio. He held out a pair of scrolls to Shikamaru. "I have storage scrolls prepared for you. It'll be easier to transport the bodies this way. We're only two hours from Kumo. We're thinking about staying the night over there before heading back tomorrow. We'll find a place for you guys to sleep. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty drained, physically and emotionally." _

_Shikamaru glanced over at Ino crying in the arms of that Kumo medical ninja. "Alright," he said simply to Darui, "thanks."_

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

"Hey, mom, I brought Ino over for dinner."

Nara Yoshino wandered to the front room. She pulled Ino tightly into a hug. "Ino, I haven't seen you in ages, thanks for coming by!"

Shikamaru grabbed the bouquet of flowers out of Ino's hands before his mother could squish them into oblivion. "I brought these dahlias for you, Nara-san," said Ino handing over the flowers. They were a beautiful yellow and orange hybrid that Ino had created last month.

"I have just the vase to put these in," said Yoshino. She winked at Ino, "Good taste, eh?"

Ino smiled. Shikamaru looked confused. His mother turned to him and said, "I thought you were supposed to be a genius, Shikamaru. Dahlias mean good taste in the language of flowers."

"Oh," said Shikamaru in confusion watching his mother wander into the kitchen for the vase. Ino slid her arms around his chest and pulled him into a leisurely kiss. When they broke apart, he was grinning stupidly. "Oh, good taste, I get it."

"Well you have good taste, Shikamaru," said his mother's voice as she leaned against the doorway. "I can't say the same for Ino if she's dating you."

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru.

Putting the flowers down on the dining room table, his mother asked, "And why didn't you tell me that Ino was coming over, Shikamaru? I would have made something for dinner if I'd known. I've already eaten myself. You're always back so late that I don't know if I'm supposed to make something for you or not."

"I'm sorry, Yoshino," Ino apologized. "It's my fault. We decided at the last minute to come over. We should have let you know in advance or at least brought some dinner with us. I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this."

"I'm sure it's not your fault, Ino. I've got some leftover stir-fry that I made yesterday. Would that be alright?"

Ino followed Shikamaru's mom into the kitchen. "That will be lovely, thanks. You don't need to go to any trouble for me."

Ino took out two plates from the cabinet and handed them to Shikamaru who was standing behind her with a handful of flatware. She grabbed three glasses and filled them with water and took them to the table. Shikamaru grabbed her around the waist on the way back to the kitchen and kissed her thoroughly again.

Ino giggled as she slipped out of his arms and back into the kitchen. Yoshino tossed the leftovers in a wok, heating it up over the stove with a little extra sauce. Turning to Ino, she said, "I stopped by the flower shop last week and saw your friend Sakura there. It's looking really nice. You've done a great job with it. Inoichi would have been really pleased."

Ino smiled at the older woman. "Thanks, that means a lot to me. I know that Shikamaru's been working really hard at the Hokage Building. Kakashi would be lost without him."

"Hiruzen, Minato, and Tsunade were all the same way with Shikaku," said Yoshino reminiscing with a smile, "always calling him in to advise them about one thing or the other. Kami, I miss him."

Shikamaru walked over to lean in the doorway. Yoshino turned off the burner now that the food was warm again. She looked down at the stir-fry morosely, thinking about her late husband.

Ino winked at Shikamaru before grabbing onto Yoshino's arm and saying, "Well Shikamaru and I have some good news for you."

Yoshino turned beaming. "You're getting married!" She crushed Ino into a hug. "I don't know you tricked her into it, Shikamaru, but don't let this one go; she's a winner."

Shikamaru frowned at his mother, taking offense at the tricking comment, even though it was theoretically true. "Technically we're already married."

Yoshino narrowed her eyes at her son. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying you got married and you didn't invite me? When did this happen?"

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, looking to the side. "Technically we got married three months ago."

"What!" gasped out Yoshino. She held Ino at arm's length and said, "Ino-chan, tell me it isn't true! You wouldn't be married to my son for three months and keep it a secret from me." Turning to Shikamaru, Yoshino said, "Did Inoichi and Shikaku know? Why on earth did no one tell me! I can't believe you, Shikamaru. I—"

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered. "I'll explain if you can be quiet for five minutes."

Ino frowned at him. "Don't speak to your mother like that, Shika."

Shikamaru slouched, putting his hands in his pockets. "So, mom, our marriage certificate is dated March 30th. You and dad and Ino's dad didn't approve of us marrying so young, so we went behind your backs and got married. We wanted to before we went to war just in case something happened to one of us."

"Shikamaru," hollered Yoshino, "I don't understand why you wouldn't tell us! Sure we wouldn't approve of you and Ino getting married so young, but still I would have liked to know. And I missed out on your wedding! I can't believe this!" She gripped Ino tighter in her arms, "Who was at your wedding, Ino?"

"Um, I guess me, Shika, Choji, the presider." She glanced at Shikamaru. "Who else did you say was there?"

Shikamaru shook his head. Yoshino looked confused. She peered at Ino again. "You don't remember your own wedding?"

Yoshino let go of Ino and took a menacing step towards her son, her first raised as if to strike a blow. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard when she screeched, "What on earth have you done, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru made a quick hand sign and then muttered, "Kagemane no Jutsu complete."

Yoshino glared at him. "You release your shadow possession right now so I can pound you. I know there's something funny going on. How is it that Ino doesn't remember the wedding? What's going on?"

Ino ran in front of Shikamaru and held out her hands to placate the other woman, "I don't remember the wedding, but neither does Shikamaru. It never happened. We have a marriage certificate but it's forged. Shikamaru can explain. There's a good reason why. I wasn't tricked into it marrying your son. I love Shikamaru."

Shikamaru released the jutsu. Ino could feel his eyes on her back. She hadn't said those words to him very often. When she did, she wasn't sure that he even believed them. But he loved her, of that she was certain. Would he still love her when he discovered what she had done, what she still had yet to do? She was in so deeply over her head. Thank Kami that this at least would distract them from the other secret she was keeping.

Shikamaru's mother eyed them shrewdly. "Alright, I'm listening."

Shikamaru took a tense breath. Ino stood next to him, with an arm wrapped around his waist. He began to explain, "The whole thing was more or less Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's doing. They'd gone a little power mad when the Five Kage passed the law about joint citizenship for children whose parents are from two different ninja villages."

Ino continued, "Utatane Koharu accepted a marriage request from Kumo on my behalf without informing me. The Konoha Council signed all the forms so it's legally binding."

Yoshino shook her head. "That can't be right. They shouldn't be allowed to do that. You can't accept unless…Oh my. You're underage and an orphan. Shikaku was your legal guardian if Inoichi died, but he's gone too. The Konoha Council were your legal guardians."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "However, it won't be binding if she's already married."

"I see," said Yoshino. "That Utatane Koharu. Good riddance."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I decided to emphasize the fact the title of my story has to do with chess by putting little quotations in the front of every chapter from chessquotes dot com. They all have a little to do with how the chapter relates to the story. **

**I guess Shikamaru plays shogi more than chess, but they're pretty similar from what I understand and I don't know much about shogi at all. My chess metaphors work a lot better than any attempts at shogi metaphors I could make.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six **

"On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not last long." - Emanuel Lasker

* * *

**Interlude**

_They arrived in Kumo just as the sun starting to set. Ino lingered in the immense gate taking in the sights. On their way, they had climbed higher and higher until the air and tree line thinned. Kumo was truly hidden in the clouds. The landscape was so foreign. All the eye could see were the white clouds, the harsh browns of the mountains and the occasional green of the pines down below._

_"What do you think?" asked C of Kumogakure._

_ Ino crossed her arms over her chest proclaiming, "It's no Konoha, but it'll have to do."_

_He chuckled and said, "Come on, I can show you around before it gets too dark."_

_Ino turned back to her companion. "Come on, Shikamaru. Keep up."_

_"Troublesome," he muttered as he watched the blonde haired Kumo shinobi pull Ino away._

_Darui halted next to him in the gate, watching them go too. "Do you think she'd go for a guy like C?"_

_"Hm?" asked Shikamaru._

_Darui stuck his hands in his pockets. "He seems pretty taken with her."_

_"She's a Konoha kunoichi. I doubt it would work out."_

_Mei Terumi and Shiranui Genma stood beside them in the gateway. "I don't know about that," mused the Mizukage. "With all the collaboration between nations during the war, I wouldn't be surprised if some law got passed making it easier for ninja from different villages to marry."_

_Genma grinned at her. "Wouldn't that be nice?"_

_"Let's go, Shiranui," said the Mizukage. "I've heard that Kumo has excellent hot tubs. I think we should investigate."_

_"A worthy pursuit, Mizukage-sama," Genma laughed, following after her._

_Darui chuckled wryly, "I think I can guess which of the Five Kage is going to propose that new law."_

_"Yeah," said Shikamaru._

_Darui took a step forward with his hands in his pockets. "Come on, can't let C have all the fun."_

Uzumaki Karin

In her mind, her time at the Torture and Interrogation Department could be broken out into two segments: the first of which she called Pre-Ino and the second of which she called Post-Ino. After hearing Ibiki raving about the girl for a nearly two months, it was hard to imagine her living up to the hype. But she did and then some.

Interrogations and Information gathering went two, three, or four times as fast when Ino was part of the team. She was only working part time, but even with the shorter number of hours, she was the most prolific of the team when gathering information.

By far her favorite things these days were their joint information gathering missions. When Ino and Karin were brought in to interrogate a suspect, they automatically fell into their Good Cop and Bad Cop roles. Ino, all blonde and pretty and angelic, was the Good Cop. The suspects where putty in her hands. When she wasn't reading their minds, sometimes they would just give up the information to her.

They had a great repartee as Good and Bad Cop. She had enjoyed her job before, but she liked it even better now. Ibiki was a funny old bastard, but Ino was a total riot. They would get together outside of work sometimes too. Ino had that flower shop where there was always a flurry of academy students and Kakashi's most trusted jonin flitting in and out of. Karin didn't understand it.

Ino was perched on the metal table in the observation room, filing her nails as she watched Ibiki interrogating a suspect. Karin was leaning against the wall, looking into the two-way mirror trying to read the suspects chakra.

"I don't know who they are!" the man cried out. "I've never see their faces."

"Do you have any identifying characteristics? Hair color, body shape, age, gender?" demanded Ibiki.

"I don't know!"

"He's lying," said Karin. "Tell Ibiki."

Ino put down her nail file and made a handsign to communicate telepathically with the tokubetsu jonin in the other room. She picked back up her nail file, saying, "I told him. He'll pursue."

"Good," said Karin peering closer at the terrified man in the chair. "It's amazing to think that no one's ever seen them. How can someone be completely invisible?"

"It's amazing that they'll trust leaders who don't trust them enough to show them their faces," mused Ino.

"Let's try this again," said Ibiki in the other room. "I know that they go by POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON. Which one have you met?"

"I've met DRAGON, but he was wearing a mask and a cloak. I couldn't tell anything about him."

"So he's a man," said Ibiki. "What did he look like? Was he tall or short? Thin or fat?"

"I don't know, he was wearing a cloak, it was hard to tell," said the man. "He was tall. He wasn't too bulky, normal size."

"Did you get to see his hands? What did they look like?"

"He was wearing gloves," said the prisoner.

Karin sighed, "It's amazing that we've had two Root operatives now that have interacted with DRAGON. We've never had that before. I wonder why the man's come out of the woodwork. He usually just makes RAT relay all the orders to the operatives."

Ino nodded. "Doesn't bode well does it?"

Karin rubbed her eyes. "It makes me nervous. SPIDER and POSSUM on the other hand are still in the shadows."

"They can't hide forever," said Ino.

"So he's tall and not fat," said Karin. "That's easy enough to manipulate by slouching or wearing lifts or using a transformation jutsu. It's no help to us. He could even be a woman using a transformation jutsu."

Ino pursed her lips. "Which conveniently narrows it down to approximately 100% of the village's ninjas. A man or woman who is tall or short, fat or thin or perfectly average. Awesome."

"Did you see him use any jutsu?" asked Ibiki in the other room.

"No, nothing," said the suspect.

"So Ino, with your telepathy thing. You can send thoughts to other people, but can you read their thoughts too?" asked Karin.

"Yeah," said Ino, "I can read thoughts. I transmit a thought and the other person just thinks a response and I'll get it."

"Cool," said Karin. "Can you do that right now?"

'_Sure_,' said Ino in Karin's mind. '_What did you want to talk with me about_?'

'_I think we might have a mole in the department. When we released the prisoner after you gave him a mind wipe, he was killed the very next day. It's like Root knew what was happening and what our plans were_.' Karin thought to herself. It was so weird communicating this way.

"What do you know about your leader's plans?" asked Ibiki from the other room.

'_It is a little weird," _Ino answered in Karin's mind_, "but you get used to it. I agree with you there, though. Root has probably infiltrated every department in Konoha. I would be absolutely in their best interest to infiltrate this one because we're the ones looking for them. Information can be a powerful tool.'_

"I only know what the missions they send me on," said the man. "I don't know their plans."

'_I'd bet money that those men: POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON are all in high ranking positions in different departments in Konoha_," Karin thought.

"Tell me about these missions," asked Ibiki's cool voice.

'_That's not a bet you're likely to lose_," answered Ino.

"I've been keeping dibs on people that DRAGON asks me to. Trailing them and reporting back on their movements: who they see, where they go, what they're doing."

'_Ino_,' thought Karin in her head. '_There's one other thing. It's not about POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON_.'

'_What is it_?' answered Ino in her head.

'_I can sense that you're pregnant. I can sense the chakra signatures_.'

Ino didn't answer back. But the suspect filled the silence between the girls. "I've been following Hatake Kakashi, Kato Shizune, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru …"

'_You're what, four months along? Have you told anyone_?'

Silence, but the subject kept rattling off names. "…Yamato, Sai, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke…."

'_You're already showing, those baggy clothes and flak vests will only take you so far_,' continued Karin. 'Y_ou can't stay here for too long. It's dangerous for a kunoichi to use chakra while she's pregnant. You're taking an awfully big risk_.'

"…and Yamanaka Ino."

'_I-I don't know what to do_.' Ino finally answered, stepping closer to her.

"Yamanaka Ino? We've had you in custody for two weeks. You were following her before that?" asked Ibiki.

"Yes."

'_If you need any help, you only need to ask_,' Karin continued. '_The baby's chakra signature resembles another chakra signature I know very well. I spent months following it after all. I'm not sure how you came to be carrying his child, but it seemed he was cognizant of it. That explains a couple things_.'

"_You mustn't tell anyone_," Ino answered in Karin's mind.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Ino crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Why are you being so rude, Shikamaru?"_

_Shikamaru glared back. "That's none of your concern."_

_They were standing inside Shikamaru's hotel room that the Kumo ninjas had provided him for the night. Ino's room was down the hall. They were in one the buildings built into the craggy peaks of Kumo. The place was pretty quiet; their ninjas were still only trickling in from the front. Some would never return; some would never be the same. The majority were still convalescing at the veritable city of medical tents that the Allied Shinobi Forces had set up south of Kumo._

_Ino sighed in annoyance. She leaned close to him, hissing, "We're guests in their village. Did you realize that? It wasn't for the ties we've formed with other villages because of the war we wouldn't even be allowed to wander around in here like we please."_

_Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest. "I think you're enjoying yourself too much."_

_Ino sat down on his bed. "What's wrong, Shikamaru? You haven't talked with me but to snap at me since we found our father's bodies. I wish you would talk to me. You're the only one who knows how I feel."_

_Shikamaru leaned against the wall next to the bed. "Maybe you should go talk with C. I'm sure he'd like to know you better. After all, he's beautiful and romantic and gentle too, right?"_

_Ino frowned at him. "Are you…are you jealous?"_

_Shikamaru only glared in reply._

_Ino waved a hand at him. "C's my friend. He's been really nice helping me through my shifts at the medical tents and talking about dad and the war."_

_"Then why aren't you sitting on his bed?"_

_Ino jumped up and slapped him across the face. "I won't sit here and be insulted. You can come and talk to me, Shikamaru, when you've grown up."_

_"I hope you're happy together," Shikamaru snapped as she slammed the door behind her._


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: It looks like someone's figured out who Ino's baby daddy is. I won't say who. ;-) Mysteries still needed to be solved: POSSUM, DRAGON, and SPIDER. They've all been introduced. Who are they? Yamamoto Butsuma...who's Yamato's father? Where are the bijuu going? Why is Ino wiping Sakura's and Shikamaru's minds? What are ROOTS plans? Any theories?**

**In other news, I was thinking about having Shikamaru represent the bishop and Sasuke represent the knight, but I've decided to switch them. I'm trying to figure out which characters make sense. Here's what I've got for the main characters. What do you think?**

**Shikamaru - Knight**

**Ino - Queen**

**Sasuke - Bishop**

******Sakura - Rook**

**Naruto - Rook**

**Hinata - Pawn traded for Bishop**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"No fantasy, however rich, no technique, however masterly, no penetration into the psychology of the opponent, however deep, can make a chess game a work of art, if these qualities do not lead to the main goal - the search for truth." - Vasily Smyslov

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura stopped by Yamanaka flowers on Friday evening after closing. Even after the reconstruction after Pein's attack and the Fourth Shinobi war, the girls had still continued to meet once a month to gossip and catch up with one another. There little group had grown in recent years.

Before it had been only Ino, Sakura, Hinata and TenTen. Now Hanabi and Meogi, the recently promoted chunin, joined in as well. Shiho from the Cryptanalysis Division was always invited and would stop by from time to time. Karin, one of Sasuke's erstwhile companions, had recently joined the fold and would be coming to dinner for the first time. She had grown very close to Ino in the time they'd been working together at T&I.

Sakura closed the door behind her as she made her way into Yamanaka flowers. "Ino! Are you ready to go?" she called into the room.

"I'm in the backroom," yelled Ino's voice.

Sakura wandered into the backroom where Ino was sitting on a stool at her work bench and making a wreath of peonies. Sakura dropped the bottle of sake she was carrying on the work table next to her friend. "Ready to go?"

Ino had several pins in her mouth that she was using to keep the peonies in place. _'One minute_,' said Ino in her head. _'I'm almost done with this wreath_.'

"It always freaks me out how you can do that," said Sakura in reply.

_'Yamanaka bloodline_,' the blonde girl winked at her as she put another pin into the wreath.

Sakura sat down next to her saying, "So work at the hospital's been going well. Shizune's planning to move back herself next week. Inuzuka Hana is going to help Iruka and Shikamaru assign missions now."

_ 'I really excited for you.'_ The blonde girl beamed. _'I had been putting off working at Torture and Interrogation, but now that I am, I wish that I had started earlier. It's great to be doing what you love.'_

"Er," stuttered Sakura, "torturing people?"

Ino winked as she twisted the stem of another peony, trying to attach it to the wreath, _'Not torturing people exactly, but getting to work with people's minds and helping the village.'_

"So Ino, with your bloodline, can you read my mind too?" wondered Sakura.

_'Just sitting here_?' wondered Ino, putting in another pin. _'That would be a huge invasion of privacy_.'

"But can you?"

Taking the pins out of her mouth, she smiled mysteriously at her friend and finally spoke aloud. "That'll be my little secret."

"But you could if you wanted to," said Sakura.

"Who knows," shrugged Ino. "Could just be a trick."

Sakura leaned close to Ino and whispered, "What am I thinking right now?" Ino leaned in, staring at Sakura and focusing hard. Sakura grinned, asking again. "What am I thinking?"

Ino broke out into a huge grin before leaning back against the work bench and flinging her hair back, letting it cascade down her back. "Oh, Naruto-kun," she said huskily. "I need you inside me." Sakura blushed brick red as Ino went on completely unabashed. She moaned out, "Oh Naruto, oh, that feels so good! Oh, yes, oh, please, more, more, please! I need you deeper, faster inside me! Oh yes! Oh, Naruto! Oh yes! Oh fuck! Oh, Naruto!"

"That wasn't what I was thinking!" squealed Sakura. "And that's never happened. You made that up whole thing up."

Ino chuckled. "Oh, put a sock in it Sakura. I know for a fact that you moan out Naruto's name in your sleep. You did last time we had a slumber party."

"That was one time!"

"It's fine, it's totally understandable. Naruto's grown up to be quite the stud. You should have seen all the girls fawning over him when they discovered his dad was the Yondaime. And those muscles and that blonde hair, yum!"

"Don't talk about him like that!"

"What," teased Ino. "Are you jealous?"

"No," said Sakura tensely.

Ino put a hand to her chin, grinning widely. "Just think about his stamina on the battlefield. Imagine what he'd be like in the bedroom. He could probably keep going for days." Sakura was blushing a brighter red by the second. "So you are sleeping with him?" wondered Ino.

"No I'm not!"

"But you want to."

"I…I….No!"

Ino giggled. "You totally do."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Well what about you and Shikamaru," she countered. "He made that birth control seal for you. So are you sleeping with him?"

Ino shrugged, "Oh, that's old news."

Sakura blushed. "You mean?"

"Oh yeah," said Ino. "Right where you're sitting actually."

"What!" Sakura cried jumping up from her chair.

Ino giggled uncontrollably. "I'm just kidding. You should have seen your face!"

Sakura huffed and wandered over to the other work bench in the room a little ways down from Ino. Hopefully she had Shikamaru hadn't done the dirty on this bench too. Sakura put a hand to her face which was still burning in mortification. Was Ino just making a lucky guess or had she seen Sakura's dream last night? Kami, she was so embarrassed.

There was a closed plastic box of beautiful purple petals and containers of plastic gloves and vials. The petals looked slippery, as if other petals had been made into oil and poured over them.

"Do you make perfume now too?" she wondered.

"Perfume? No, but that's a good idea," said Ino absent mindedly, poring over the wreath as she finished attaching the last peony.

"What's this for then?" wondered the pink haired girl as she took off the container and began to reach into the box. "It smells lovely."

"Hm?" mused Ino, glancing up at her. "Don't touch that," Ino yelled, jumping off her stool and batting Sakura's hands away before slamming down the top of the plastic box. She grabbed Sakura's hands in hers and looked at her fingers. "Did you touch the liquid or petals?"

Sakura glanced up at her friend, eyes wide. "No, what's wrong?"

When Ino raised her head, her eyes were shining with tears. "Thank Kami," she muttered, hugging Sakura and sniffing. "Those are Belladona petals. Very poisonous. I'm distilling poison for my senbon. You could get really sick or die from touching them."

Sakura blinked, shocked by how close she had just come to serious injury. "That's a little dangerous just having them out like that isn't it? You have academy students wandering around here during the day."

Ino pointed to the box and the supplies near it. "It's marked and labeled and I always keep it closed. I usually keep it upstairs in my room now, but I was putting in more petals today."

"Oh," said Sakura. Now that she looked again, she did notice the little label on the side of the container. "I didn't notice that at first. I feel a little foolish."

Ino hugged her tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay. I'll have to be more careful with my poisons. I shouldn't have left my box of Belladona out like that."

"Belladona," muttered Sakura to herself. "Shizune and I found that in Koharu and Homura's tea." She gripped Ino's arms tightly. "Ino, what on earth have you done? Do you realize what will happen if you get caught? You'll be put in prison for life!"

Ino shrugged off Sakura's grip. "I didn't poison anyone."

"Could I have a sample of it then, just to make sure?" asked Sakura.

"Be my guest," said Ino, crossing her arms over her chest.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru spent the next hour sitting by the window and fuming. He was furious at those Uchiha for not learning how to deal with hardship and taking it out the shinobi world. He was furious at Kumo for having such fantastic clouds. He was furious at Ino for being so damn beautiful and talented and brave and charming that shinobi just dropped everything and fell in love with her._

_He turned when there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" he called._

_"It's C," called a man's voice from outside._

_Shikamaru glared at the door like it had offended him. "What do you want?"_

_"Can I come in?"_

_Shikamaru sighed and stood up. He walked over to the door and opened it. The blonde Kumo shinobi was looking at him tensely. Ino did have a tendency to go for those cool pretty boys. Kami, it was annoying. This C from Kumogakure was just her type. Damn the man._

_"What do you want? Can't I mourn my father in peace?"_

_C looked apologetic. "I'm sorry to bother you, Shikamaru. I went to check on Ino, but she wasn't answering the door. I heard crying inside so I got worried. I didn't want to burst in without her permission. Do you think it would it be alright if—"_

_"I'll check on her," said Shikamaru, stressing the 'I.'_

_C looked disappointed but took it in stride. "Thanks, I appreciate it."_

_"Not a problem."_

_"If there's anything I can do, just let me know," said C._

_Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and walked over to stand in front of the door to Ino's hotel room. He stared at it for a full five minutes before knocking. _

_Her voice was muffled from inside. "Go away, Shikamaru; I don't want to talk to anyone right now."_

_"Ino, open the damned door."_

_After a moment the door opened and Ino glared out at him. "Thought of some more good insults, Shika?"_

_"Let me in," demanded Shikamaru._

_"So you can call me names? No thanks. Go away."_

_Shikamaru leaned towards her, staring her in the eye. "If you wanted me to go away, why'd you open the door?"_

_Ino rolled her eyes. "I dunno. Maybe I thought you'd apologize to me for being a complete dick."_

_Shikamaru glared at the door to her room. "I'm sorry if you took offense at what I said," he finally admitted begrudgingly._

_Ino let out a little scream before walking away from the door and back into her room. So what if his apology didn't admit any guilt. He hadn't done anything wrong. Sensing an opportunity because she hadn't slammed the door in his face, he walked in and closed the door behind him. He looked around; the room was very much like his._

_Ino was sitting on the bed and glaring at him. "Did you want to check under the bed and in the closets to make sure that I'm not hiding any of my many lovers in there?"_

_"That won't be necessary," said Shikamaru._

_Ino rolled her eyes at him. Her whole body was riddled with tension as if waiting for the blow to fall. He walked closer. "You look tense; do you want me to give you a back rub?"_

_"Huh?" asked Ino gaping at him. _

_"A back rub?" muttered Shikamaru. When she merely continued to gape at him he said, "Just forget I said anything." He sat down on the bed next to her. "I'm not good at these things - comforting girls. Choji's better with it than I am."_

_Ino's eyes were watering again. "I don't want Choji."_

_"Do you want C?" asked Shikamaru. "He was worried about you. I can go find him."_

_Ino shook her head. "I don't want him either. I want you, Shikamaru."_

_"Me?" he asked in confusion._

_She nodded, tears dripping down her face. "Yes, you. I just want you to hold me in your arms and tell me everything is going to be alright. But you keep snapping at me. I don't know what I've done wrong to make you hate me so."_

_Shikamaru slid closer to her on the bed, pulling her into her arms. "I'm sorry, Ino. You must know that I could never hate you. I'm here now, for what it's worth."_

_She grabbed onto him tightly, wrapping her arms around him. "I've missed you," she whispered against his shoulder. "Don't ever leave me. I couldn't survive losing you too."_

_"I'll stay as long as you want me," he whispered back._

_Burying her face in his chest, she cried and screamed and sobbed and raged. He lay back on the bed and pulled her against his side. He tucked her into his shoulder, rubbing her back and whispering what he thought were comforting words. She fell asleep in his arms. _

* * *

**Uzumaki Karin**

Konoha wasn't that bad of a place. All of the shinobi were kinder here than in other places. They all had that same kindness in them that she had sensed from her clansman Naruto. She had spent most of her life as a nomad living in different lands and different cities, and Konoha was by far her favorite.

Her idyllic childhood in the Village Hidden in the Whirlpool was brought to a tragic close when the village was destroyed. She hid during the destruction and barely escaped with her life.

Her late childhood was spent as a refugee in Kusa. She was sneered at because of her red hair and her foreign looks; she never truly belonged there. Her genin team didn't want anything to do with her. They left her for dead during the terrifying second test during Konoha's chunin exams. Sasuke had saved her then and later he had given her a nice group of friends. He might be an asshole, but her life became better the moment he waltzed into it.

Her adolescence was stolen and twisted by Orochimaru, first as an experiment and then as the warden for his prison. Any innocence she might have had was lost. Sasuke found her at the prison and recruited her to help him track down and kill his brother Uchiha Itachi. She hadn't been pleased when Hozuki Suigetsu joined the group because his chakra smelled like seawater and fish oil. It was weird.

Yamanaka Ino, her friend at T&I, invited her to join them at an all-girls barbeque party that evening. It was strange, because Karin didn't know the other Konoha kunoichi particularly well, but it was nice to be included. Anything to get away from Suigetsu and Sasuke for a night. Ino promised that Sakura, who Karin knew through Sasuke and Naruto, would be there too. It would be a fun night. Kunoichi always seemed to have better gossip than their male counterparts.

Who was dating who? Who was sleeping with whom? Who had hooked up in their latest mission outside Konoha?

Luckily, Ino's little secret hadn't become public knowledge yet. If it had, it would definitely be the most interesting piece of gossip in a long while. Karin wasn't sure if anyone besides her was even aware of the blonde kunoichi's pregnancy. How on earth did Ino get pregnant with that man's children? Ino asked her to keep it quiet, so she would.

When she got there, a couple girls were already sitting down at the table. There was the weapons mistress who wore her hair in twin buns at the top of her head. She was sitting in the booth against the wall between a younger girl with wild orange hair standing up in two pigtails and a girl with messy blonde hair and huge glasses. Two sisters from the Hyuga clan sat next to each other with the older Hyuga girl at the head of the table and her sister on her other side.

Karin noted that the weapons mistress was stubbornly trying to avoid looking at the older Hyuga girl and the older Hyuga girl was staring down at her hands uncomfortably. Interesting. Could there be drama just at the table?

Walking up to the table, Karin nodded to the other girls saying, "I'm Uzumaki Karin, pleased to meet you."

The older Hyuga girl started and stared at Karin in surprise. "U-Uzumaki?"

"Distant relation," replied Karin. She had grown accustomed to that particular question. The red haired kunoichi sat down next to the younger Hyuga girl. "Are Ino and Sakura not here yet?"

"They should be here soon," said the girl with the buns. "They're heading over together."

"Okay," said Karin. She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced around the table. "So what are all your names? I don't think we've been introduced."

"I'm TenTen," said the girl with the braids.

"Shiho," said the blonde girl with the huge swirl glasses.

"Moegi," said the orange haired girl.

"Hanabi," said the younger Hyuga girl.

"H-Hinata," said her older sister.

Sakura's voice came from behind Karin. "Sorry we're late a bit late."

Sakura sat down at the head of the table and slammed bottle of sake down in front of her. Ino laughed before standing in front of the chair beside Sakura. Smiling at the red haired girl, the blonde kunoichi said, "Good you're already here, Karin. I'm glad that you could join us."

Karin smiled back and pulled out the chair next to the younger Hyuga sister and sat down. "Oh, I'm just here for the gossip. Suigetsu and Sasuke never have any interesting gossip."

Ino laughed, "That we can provide."

TenTen waved over the waiter and put in the order for them. He walked away to fetch some glasses of water, sake, and sake glasses. Sakura pushed her sake bottle to the middle of the table. "Sai picked this up in Kumo on his last mission. I thought it'd be fun to try it together."

The waiter was back with the glasses. TenTen reached over and unscrewed the cap to Sakura's sake bottle. Pouring it out around the table, she paused at Moegi's glass. "You're too young to drink, right?"

Meogi smiled cheekily. "Pour me a glass, TenTen-sempai."

TenTen made a face at Meogi before winking. "I'll let you have a taste, Meogi-chan."

When TenTen came to Hanabi's glass she began to pour a glass before Hinata stopped her. "Not for Hanabi. She's too young."

"Don't be a stick in the mud Hinata-ne-chan," said Hanabi. "Meogi's having a glass too; I think I can handle it."

"I don't think…Father will…" Hinata began, but TenTen had already poured the glass.

Ino put a hand on top of her glass. "No thanks."

TenTen looked at her strangely. "Ino-chan? Why aren't you drinking?"

"Come on, Ino-sempai," cried Meogi, "even Hanabi and I are having some."

Karin leaned over and put her own glass out. "Leave Ino alone. If she doesn't want to drink, she shouldn't have to."

Ino waved a hand in front of her glass. "I don't want the empty calories. Got to watch my figure."

TenTen poured Karin's glass and then moved onto Sakura. The pink haired girl lifted her glass towards the middle of the table and said, "A toast, girls!"

Ino lifted her water glass to clink against the other girls' sake glasses.

Sakura called out the kunoichi toast that she had learned from Yamanaka Chika, "May your senbon always stay sharp and your sake glass never run dry!"

"And may your husband never find out about your lover!" Ino continued the old saying.

The other girls turned to Ino. "Is that the rest of the saying?" wondered Hinata. "I've never heard that part before."

"Yep," said Ino.

"So what's the gossip then," asked Karin sitting back in her chair and sipping her sake.

Ino leaned back in her chair. "I heard that the Konoha Council's been trying to get Sasuke to kick start the Uchiha clan again."

"Meh," said Karin. "That's old news. Who's dating who? Who's sleeping with whom? Who hooked up with whom during their last mission outside the village?"

"Ino?" asked Sakura.

Ino started. "What? I'm not…"

Sakura snorted. "I was just asking if you had any interesting gossip."

Ino took a drink out of her glass. "Nothing too exciting. I can tell you about the new funeral arrangements people have been getting and the trash that Karin and I've been seeing in our subjects' minds at the T&I division."

Karin laughed out loud. "Ino and I have the whole department running scared. Ibiki is still the only shinobi that we've been unable to crack."

"Oh," said Sakura. "I do have something! Did you all know that Captain Yamato's been dating that tokubetsu jonin, Kimiko, who teaches at the academy?"

"I thought he was taking your cousin, Yamanaka Chika," said TenTen to Ino.

Ino waved her hand at TenTen. "She wants to, but he doesn't think it's appropriate because he's her superior."

Moegi had stars in her eyes, "That's so tragic and romantic!"

Ino gigged. "You should have heard some of the stories she's told me about trying to seduce him. He's a hard nut to crack. She even resorted to the 'teach me water ninjutsu trick.'"

TenTen gasped, "Not the one where you wear all white? _That_ didn't work? That always works!"

Ino shock her head. "She tried it a couple years back, she was telling me, but Yamato resisted."

Sakura sat back in her chair, and mused, "Wow, I'm surprised that didn't work. I didn't know Chika-sempai was chasing him. Looks like Kimiko's doing better at it though."

"Probably just because it wouldn't be a conflict of interest," said Ino. "I've told Chika that if she leaves ANBU he'll probably ask her out when she's turning in her two weeks' notice, but she likes it there too much."

"Did you see Yamato and Kimiko on a date, Sakura?" wondered TenTen.

The pink haired medic nodded. "Her class comes to help out at the flower shop on Wednesdays and the girls have kunoichi classes on Mondays. I saw Yamato picking her up after one of them."

"Kimiko's a nice girl," said Ino. "I helped out at her class last month when she was going with a group on a D-Rank mission outside the village. She's got the patience of a saint, dealing with those little monsters – I mean children."

TenTen chuckled. "So your own stint as an academy teacher didn't make you want to join up at the Konoha academy?"

Ino shook her head emphatically. "Not at all. I must prefer hardened criminals to a mob of unruly wanna be shinobi. They're less more terrifying and grabby. I don't know how Choji deals with them every day. "

Shiho shifted her glasses up her nose. "So you don't like children, Ino-san?"

Hinata chimed in, "Ino, I've seen you watching Kurenai's baby all the time. I think you babysit her the most out of all of us on Teams Eight and Ten."

Ino shrugged. "Asuka is the exception. Babies are adorable."

Shiho shifted in her seat and said, "Kakashi-sama gave had the Cryptanalysis Division doing some research about the passing on of the Uchiha kekkei genkai. I didn't realize that so many of the clans in Konoha have bloodlines. Did you know that the Nara clan's bloodline involves having a sensory link with their shadow?"

"Is their bloodline something about being geniuses too?" wondered Sakura.

"Nothing definitive, but studies have shown that all Nara clan members show above average intelligence. Their IQs are on average thirty points higher than the general population."

"Well that's better than having a bloodline that makes you a busybody like Ino here," said Sakura.

Ino paused in the middle of taking a sip of water and winked at Sakura. "You asked me if I could read your mind and then got upset when I did."

"Those memories were false."

"How was I to know that your daydreams were off-limits?"

TenTen giggled, "Who's Sakura been daydreaming about? Sasuke? Naruto?"

Ino winked at Sakura. "I can't say."

Sakura huffed.

Meogi turned to Ino with a smirk. "Well what about you and Shikamaru, Ino-sempai?"

"Sh-Shikamaru?" wondered Shiho from beside Sakura.

TenTen poured another round of sake, "That's old news, Meogi-chan. It's pretty obvious that Shikamaru's totally into our girl Ino."

"He is?" wondered Shiho.

"So are you guys sleeping together," wondered TenTen. "I've been hearing some crazy rumors about the two of you."

Ino frowned at the table eager to hear the details of her private life. "Come on, there are children at the table."

"But are you, Ino-sempai?" demanded Moegi.

Ino sighed dramatically, "My little Moegi-chan isn't the darling little girl I used to know. She's all grown up and asking adult questions."

"Stop avoiding the question, Ino-sempai," said Moegi. "I heard that you two got married in secret before the war broke out and that Koharu and the council tried to marry you off to the Tsuchikage's son, but Shikamaru bitch slapped Koharu across the face and said he was married to you already! So then you poisoned the Konoha Council to get your revenge."

Ino gaped in surprise. "Less than half of that sounds true. I doubt Shikamaru bitch slapped anyone and I definitely didn't poison anyone."

"What!" gasped all the women at the table. "So the rest of it is true!"

"Er," said Ino, "I guess. But I'm not actually sure who the shinobi was that the marriage was arranged to."

"I heard it was the Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand," said Shiho, pushing back her glasses.

"I heard it was the Raikage, Darui," said Hanabi.

"I heard it was the Tsuchikage's son, Kurotsuchi," said Moegi.

"Kurotsuchi is a girl," said Sakura with a frown.

"I heard that the Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and Shiranui Genma wanted to bring Ino in as second wife," said Karin.

Ino glared at her red headed friend. "You're just making up stuff now, Karin."

The red head shrugged. "I doesn't sound any less preposterous than any of the other rumors."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"Quiet moves often make a stronger impression than a wild combination with heavy sacrifices." - Mikhail Tal

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sakura stretched out under the umbrella that Saiken had put up for them. She was tired and didn't want to get sunburned. The slug bijuu burned just as easily as she did. _

_Naruto, naturally, was off frolicking with the turtles in the ocean. _

_The Land of Shells was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She had been so excited when Naruto had suggested it as a little weekend getaway for the two of them. She always loved seeing her slug summons in their natural habitat. _

_The ocean on that side of the world was indescribable. She could see clear down to the sandy floor. The water was a pleasant aquamarine – like her eyes, Naruto said – unlike the cobalt – like his eyes, she said – of the ocean bordering the Land of Fire. The sun was also more intense in the Land of Shells. Sakura had gotten a little sunburned on the first day there. Naruto had just gotten a nice tan. _

_She was tired because the night before they watched the turtle hatchlings crawl to the ocean. Isobu, the turtle bijuu, had showed Naruto and a little nest of turtle eggs on the beach and invited them to watch them hatch and make their way to the shore._

_She had spent the night nestled in Naruto's arms, waiting for the eggs to hatch and then watched as they fought their way out of their shells towards the ocean. She had clutched onto Naruto in amazement, so grateful to be sharing this miracle with him._

_He had smiled softly down at her, his eyes reflecting the stars wheeling above them. She wanted him to her kiss her so badly, but he was always such a gentleman; it was infuriating._

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura looked down at her clipboard. She had finished seeing all of her patients for the day. She had been brought in to consult on the therapy for several amputations and was really pleased to see that their new puppet master jutsu therapy was working well for several of the patients.

Konoha wasn't as skilled at the puppet master jutsu as Suna; they didn't have the same long history of it that the Sand Village did. However, they had many ninjas skilled with chakra strings. Their physical therapists were helping the ninjas with new prosthetics to learn how to use chakra strings to operate and manipulate their new appendages.

One of the kenjutsu specialists, who had lost his sword arm during the war, was really excited to have his prosthetic fitted with several different types of blades. His battle prosthetic had a long blade coming out of his elbow, so he was learning new ways to fight with the blade on his elbow and the blades held in his hands.

As she walked down the hall towards the little room on the third floor that she used as an office, she smiled to herself. Going back to the hospital had been a wonderful idea. She had enjoyed helping her sensei at the Hokage Building, but there was really something about helping and healing the Konoha ninjas at the Hospital that gave her joy like nothing else.

When she walked into the office, she was surprised to see a ninja wearing ANBU fatigues and the all covering black ANBU cloak sitting at her desk. Naruto slipped back the hood, revealing his riotous blonde hair.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sakura wondered.

Naruto sent a little breeze towards the door and it gently closed behind her. He jumped up from the chair and beamed at her, "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "It's the middle of the afternoon. What's going on? Is everything alright? Why are you in your ANBU fatigues?"

Naruto glanced down at his uniform and rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic smile. "I'm being sent away on a mission, so I wanted to stop by and say goodbye before I go."

Sakura blinked at him. "Goodbye? Are you going to be gone for a while? You don't usually say goodbye before going on missions."

Naruto looked down at his hands covered in the black ANBU gloves and metal arm guards. "It could be for a very long time or no time at all. I'm not sure."

Sakura put down her clipboard and walked over to him. "Promise me that you'll be safe."

Naruto reached a hand to her cheek, brushing a gloved hand over it. "I'll do my best, Sakura-chan. If I don't…I wanted…"

Sakura furrowed her brows in confusion. Naruto wasn't often lost for words. She smiled at him. "It's not like you're going to be gone forever, Naruto. We'll be seeing each other when you get back."

Naruto looked deeply into her eyes; there was a profound sadness in his cobalt blue eyes that made Sakura nervous. "At any rate, I didn't want to go before doing this."

He moved so quickly that Sakura barely had time to react before Naruto pulled her into his arms and closed his mouth over hers in a kiss. Sakura pulled back from him in alarm. "Naruto?"

Naruto stepped back from her. "I'm so sor…"

He wasn't able to complete the thought before Sakura grabbed him and reinitiated the kiss. She tangled her hands in his spiky hair, nipping at his lips and pulling him closer to her. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she clutched at the strong muscles of his back. She felt so girly and petite when wrapped in his arms and pressed against his muscular chest.

He devoured her with a furious need that made her heart pound and an unfamiliar warmth bloom deep in her belly. His hands drifted down to her bottom and lifted her up against him. He massaged her bottom as he carried her to the desk and set her down on it.

They lost themselves in a flurry of passion. Naruto slid her red shirt up her body, dropping leisurely kisses on her stomach. She let out a giggle as he blew a raspberry on her stomach. She was so glad that she had thought to take that little pink potion the other day.

Her bra was gone with a snap. She only realized the fact after he took one of her breasts in his hot mouth and began to twirl his tongue around her hard nipple. Her head fell back against the desk and she moaned his name.

The heat in her stomach had blossomed into delicious throbbing between her legs, made more frantic by the hardness of his erection pressing against her inner thigh. She had this ache, this ache that only he could fill.

She wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel him insistent now against her inner thigh. Oh Kami, she needed him like she needed air. Her hands slipped under the waistband of his pants to take the heavy weight of him in her hands. She slid her hand down his shaft, not sure what she was supposed to do.

"S-Sakura!" he squeaked, going completely rigid. "What are you doing?"

"Naruto," she panted. "I want you to, please!"

He rested his head between her breasts panting. His warm breath puffing over her sternum sent shivers down her spine. "Not like this, Sakura," he gasped out finally. He turned his eyes, now dark with passion, on her. "I don't want our first time to be in the hospital against your desk. You deserve better than that."

Sakura put a hand to his cheek and smiled. "Let's go back to your place then. I can take the next hour off. I'll leave a note."

Naruto looked first completely flabbergasted and then conflicted. "They're already waiting for me at the village gate. I only thought this was going to take a second. I didn't think…"

Sakura chuckled, before kissing him lightly on the lips. "Then I'll just have to wait until you get back to the village after your mission."

Naruto rested his head against her heart and closed his eyes. "I love you, Sakura," he said.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Naruto jumped off the back of Isobu into the water, whooping excitedly. He called to Sakura, "Stop lying there getting sunburned, come try out the water, Sakura-chan. It's awesome!"_

_Sakura put down her book and tugged the white dress she wore over her bathing suit off. She raced towards the shore where Naruto was cheering her on with the turtle summons. Channeling chakra on the soles of her feet, she ran over to where Naruto was jumping off the backs of the turtles into the ocean._

_With a fiendish grin, he climbed onto the surface of the water, before tacking her back into the ocean. With a little scream, she fell back, wrapped tightly in his arms, their slick bodies sliding against one another. They surfaced after a beat and he stared into her eyes, clutching her lithe form to his chest._

_Her expression turned serious as she titled her head up, waiting for him to kiss her._

_"Oi, Naruto! Watch this!" squealed one of the younger turtles._

_The moment was broken. She opened her eyes and saw him watching her pensively._


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

"In general I consider that in chess everything rests on tactics. If one thinks of strategy as a block of marble, then tactics are the chisel with which a master operates, in creating works of chess art." - Tigran Petrosian

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

He hadn't been looking forward to the reconvening of the Five Kage Summit in the least. Naruto hadn't developed any better plan to convince the other kage that discontinuing the jinchuriki program was a good idea. Then on top of that was the matter of Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru's secret marriage. Koharu had refused to send anything, so Kakashi had been forced to do it. Yamato and Shizune had stood in front of the desk dictating the missive for him. Yamato had been rolling his eyes the whole time and Shizune had looked completely horrified and furious through it all.

Rumors had spread about the secret marriage and why it had finally been revealed. Koharu finally had to deal with some bad press oh her own making for a change. Kakashi relished it for a day or two until the council members had both turned up dead. They had been sitting in their office drinking tea.

All in all it wasn't going to be fun for him at the Five Kage Summit. With all the controversy at home with mysterious deaths and marriages, he was sure that the other kage would be regarding him with suspicion. He had already appointed the new council members, Kurenai and Iruka. Iruka had looked uneasy about the whole thing. He said he didn't want to benefit from an assassination that Kakashi had ordered. Lovely.

Naruto and Yamato trekked beside him across the mountains near Kumo. Pakkun was leading the way. The little ninja hound eyed the shinobi curiously. "Why the long faces, folks?"

Yamato glared at Kakashi. "I can't believe I have to go to this too. I was supposed to go on a date with Kimiko this weekend."

Kakashi shrugged. "Just reschedule for next week."

"I've been rescheduling!" said Yamato. "We still haven't had our first date and it's all your fault, Kakashi!"

"It's not my fault that you're my most trusted and trustworthy advisor/bodyguard," Kakashi said winking.

"I thought you were dating my ANBU captain, Chika-taicho," interrupted Naruto with a glare. "Are you double timing her?"

Yamato gaped. "I'm not dating Chika. I can't; she's a subordinate."

Kakashi waved his hand. "Excuses."

"You should have made Shikamaru go with you instead," growled Yamato. "He's the one causing half the controversy anyway. I can't believe this. I'm here trying to cover for him and his secret marriage to Ino and he's off enjoying it. It's simply not fair."

"Er," said Naruto. "Even I can see that might not be wise. Darui and C would probably punch Shikamaru in the face right when they see them. Omoi was telling me that C is furious, like really pissed, like utterly without –"

"We get it," sighed Kakashi. "The Raikage and his advisor are pissed. I wish to Kami that someone had assassinated me instead of Koharu and Homaru so I don't have to deal with this."

"Don't say that, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto scolded.

"Who do you think did it then?" wondered Yamato. "I know we didn't authorize anything like that even if everyone thinks we did."

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think it was Shikamaru or Ino. They were furious at the council and had reason and motive. Yamanaka Ino is capable of distilling a tincture of belladonna. I've questioned Shikamaru, but he denies any involvement."

"You think he was lying?" wondered Yamato. "Have you brought him into T&I?"

"I don't want to stir up any more controversy. It's better kept quiet."

Yamato looked surprised. "But Shikamaru is so pragmatic. I can't see him engaging in a crime of passion like that."

Kakashi shook his head. "That's what I would have thought before seeing him at the meeting with the council. When they announced to us about Ino's arranged marriage he completely lost it."

"Shikamaru completely lost it?" gasped Naruto. "That's something I got to see."

"I heard when he was talking down that Akatsuki Hidan, he was cool as a cucumber. It's hard to imagine the Nara boy losing his composure about anything," said Yamato.

"You forget that he is also a fire nature, earth and fire," said Kakashi. "His emotions are buried under a façade of pragmatism, but he's very passionate deep down."

"Yeah, yeah," said the pug. "Are you guys going to gossip about this all day? If I wanted to watch my soaps, I would have stayed home."

"You're just as bad as us, Pakkun," scolded Kakashi. "Weren't you just gossiping to Naruto about what's going on at the Cat Fortress?"

The little dog huffed and said, "It's not gossip. I was just telling Naruto what was relayed to me. The cats and raccoon dogs are getting anxious now that Matatabi and Shukaku haven't returned."

"How long have they been missing?" Naruto wondered.

"Since last night," said the little pug.

Naruto frowned.

"Do you think someone's making jinchuriki?" asked Yamato. "You said that you hadn't heard from the three tails, five tails, or seven tails in some time either, Naruto. Could that be because someone's been creating jinchuriki again? Each of the other four villages wanted to create jinchuriki with those bijuu."

Naruto sighed, "Suna wanted Chomei and Matatabi. Gaara couldn't do that right?"

Kakashi glanced around the cliff face with his one visible eye. "I wouldn't advertise that, folks. If anyone is, that's a very serious matter. The kage have agreed to postpone creating jinchuriki until we've come to an agreement in the Summit today.

* * *

**Interlude**

_He felt foolish in the dark ANBU fatigues and the metal breastplate that befitted his new rank. Why was he here? Why had he returned to Konoha? Why had he joined ANBU? What would Itachi have wanted…?_

_His dark haired and serious faced ANBU teammate had stood in front of the door of the armory with his arms crossed while Sasuke walked through the aisles inspecting all of the weapons and supplies that ANBU provided to its operatives. Watanabe Shinju had sent Sasuke such a cold glare when meeting him that Sasuke had unconsciously put a hand to his hip where his sword was sheathed._

_"Are you done yet?" sighed Shinju in annoyance. "You're already a kenjutsu expert, Uchiha, that's why we asked for you on our team. Why do you need inspect all of the katana here?"_

_Sasuke glanced back at the other man. "If you don't want to be here, just leave. I don't need a babysitter."_

_There was a click as the door opened again and Shinju had to hop out of the way to avoid being hit by the swinging door. _

_A tall man with wild green hair wandered into the room and smiled at Sasuke. "I thought that you guys might be here. I heard from Yamato that our newest member is a bit of perfectionist."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Perfectionist?"_

_The green haired man walked over to Sasuke and held out his hand. "Kenta, I'm the captain of our team. It's nice to meet you."_

_Sasuke accepted the other man's hand, disarmed by the other man's warm smile._

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

She was walking back from the training field with Sasuke when Captain Shinju and Takeshi jumped down in front of them. Sasuke's hand went unconsciously to the sword at his hip.

"What's going on?" the last Uchiha demanded.

"Last minute mission for our team," Shinju explained. "We received word from Yamato that he'd like to dispatch us as soon as possible to the Land of Hot Water."

"Hot Water?" wondered Hinata. "There's been considerable unrest there with the rebuilding of Yugakure and the overthrown of the daimyo by the Yakuza family. What's our-"

"Do you have the mission scroll? I'd like to read over the parameters before we're dispatched," interrupted Sasuke.

"No time," said Shinju. "We're already behind schedule. Pack up your bags; I can debrief you on the way."

"It's unusual for Yamato to send mission directives like this. Usually Sai or Kakashi will take over in his absence."

Shinju shrugged his head. "Well they're gone too. Yamato and Kakashi sent the mission to us through Kakashi's ninken."

"I'll get packing and meet you by the gates in an hour," said Hinata holding up a handsign and disappearing in a burst of smoke.


	30. Chapter 30

******The Endgame  
**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

"The beauty of a move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it." - Aaron Nimzowitsch

* * *

**Interlude**

_Matatabi took him as far as Torikku Forest and then bounded back to the Land of Heaven. She was already running late for catnip with the Nekomata. Matatabi had chatted the entire way. She had some funny anecdotes about the goings on in the Cat Fortress, the latest missive from Gyuki in the Land of Ink, and the strange silence from Isobu in the Land of Shells. _

_So the jinchuriki was left alone to wander through the strange forests of the fox summons. Sun streamed in columns through the little breaks in the canopy, lighting Naruto's path through the wild undergrowth. It was so quiet. Should he…_

_'__**This is not a time to back out, Naruto**__,' said Kurama. '__**They've already sensed your presence. They will not be impressed if you run away from this**__.'_

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

All the usual suspects were gathered around the table again. All the kage were watching him curiously as he stood behind Kakashi. He glared at them. It hadn't escaped his notice that his friends in the Continent of the Summons were going missing – the missing bijuu were the ones that the other four villages wanted to reclaim to seal into jinchuriki.

His eyes meet Gaara's and the betrayal pierced like a katana through his heart. Two of the bijuu that Suna hoped to acquire were missing – his friends Matatabi and Chomei. Of all people, how could Gaara betray him like this? Gaara knew what this meant to him. He had been a jinchuriki too. Of all people, he should have understood what Naruto was trying to accomplish.

C was standing behind the Raikage with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked equally pissed. Naruto felt slightly bad about that. Koharu and Homura had gotten his hopes up, which were soon crushed as the truth of his fiancé's secret marriage to another man was made public.

But really, Naruto had more reason to be pissed. So C's love life was a mess, Naruto was trying to ensure that the whole shinobi world didn't become a mess and people were trying to fight him at every turn. That was truly upsetting.

Sure, Ino was a nice girl, but she and Shikamaru were crazy about each other. Any fool with eyes could see that. C was deluding himself if he thought he stood a chance with Ino against a rival like Shikamaru.

Naruto's internal monolog-ing was cut short as the kage's began their meeting.

"We've been hearing some interesting rumors coming out of Konoha these days, Kakashi-sama," said Mei Terumi with an infuriating smirk.

"Indeed," Kitsuchi said. "I've been hearing strange rumors about that Yamanaka girl and Nara boy."

"I can hardly see how this is relevant to our summit meeting," interrupted Gaara. "We're supposed to be here to talk about what to do with the bijuu, not about Yamanaka Ino's love life, as interesting as it might be."

Darui's arms were crossed over his chest as he glared at Kakashi. "Your village offered mine a huge insult. I don't know who she thinks she is, playing with C like that."

Kakashi grimaced. "I've already explained the situation to you. It was all a horrible misunderstanding. Our village elders arranged the marriage before making Yamanaka Ino aware of it. Had she known, she would have informed us of her secret marriage before things spiraled as far out of control as they did."

"They arranged the marriage without her consent?" asked Mei Terumi. "What sort of operation are you running over there, Kakashi?"

"That woman was a spider, seducing my advisor C like that," said Darui.

"I'm sure it wasn't like that," said Kakashi. "Ino's a bit of a flirt, but I doubt she would have led C on if she was already married to Shikamaru."

Darui picked up a pile of letters and slammed them on the table in front of him. "Then why did she answer all his letters? I brought them all here for you to read, Kakashi."

Kakashi grimaced. "I assure you that will not be necessary."

"It's bad enough about the scandal," said Kitsuchi, "but then for the Yamanaka girl to go and poison the Konoha Council. I can't believe that she hasn't been put in chains. She's a criminal."

"A black widow," agreed Darui. "I propose a vote that she be turned over to Kumogakure to be tried for her crimes."

"You can't be serious," said Kakashi.

"We're dead serious," said Darui. "I vote yes. How do you vote?"

"Aye," said Kitsuchi.

"Aye," said Mei Terumi.

"Nay," said Gaara.

"Nay," said Kakashi. "If she's committed any crime, Konoha will ensure that she answers for it."

"I sincerely doubt your capability in administering justice, Kakashi," said Kitsuchi. "The whole affair has been a scandal from start to finish. You can't be serious in protecting this girl. Is she sleeping with you too?"

"No," said Kakashi firmly. "But can we please get back to the reason we meet today? This whole thing about Yamanaka Ino is giving me an ulcer."

Darui rolled his eyes. "Okay, we'll get back to her later. You wished for us to discuss the matter of the redistribution of the bijuu and the continuation of the jinchuriki program."

"Yes," said Kakashi.

"Our opinion is unchanged," said Darui. "We wish to reinstitute the program."

"As do we," said Mei Terumi.

"Iwa is anxious to begin training new jinchuriki," said Kitsuchi.

"Konoha is still against reinstituting the program," said Kakashi.

The Tschikage, Mizukage, and Raikage rolled their eyes. "Because you already have a jinchuriki," said Darui. "It's very convenient for you."

Gaara cleared his throat and said, "Suna has changed its vote from last month. We would like to implement the jinchuriki program again. We also would like to propose that Konoha provides us with access to their sealing scrolls and sealing masters and that Kumo provides us with access to their Island Turtle for the training of the jinchuriki."

"You too, Gaara?" said Naruto softly.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I need to think of my village first," said the red haired man. "The elders convinced me that we cannot protect ourselves unless we retrain jinchuriki."

Naruto's blue eyes flashed. "I thought you of all people would understand, Gaara. If we don't learn from our mistakes, we'll be forced to forever repeat this cycle of hate. Jinchuriki are just the first step in that."

Gaara's green eyes took in his friend, trying to convince him of his point. "But Naruto, we've learned from our mistakes. The reason I suffered was because I – like all jinchuriki – was treated like a leper by my village and wasn't trusted because of the weakness of my seal and my lack of training with the Shukaku.

"You, Naruto, you're an example of what jinchuriki should be. You taught me to seek acknowledgement from my village. We can teach this to our jinchuriki. We will treat them like human beings, like people. That will help to end the cycle of hate.

"I suffered because my seal was nowhere near as strong as those from Kumo or Konoha. You are descended from the Uzumaki, the clan most skilled at sealing. If you teach us their Fuuinjutsu, we can ensure that our jinchuriki won't suffer because of poor sealing."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, that will make the experience better for jinchuriki, but in my opinion it is the practice itself of confining another inside us that's the injustice."

"I hardly think-" began Kitsuchi.

Naruto pulled up his shirt and molded chakra to show the kages his seal. "This seal is beautiful and powerful, but it supports a great evil and injustice in our world. How would you like to be ripped from your homes and your families and sealed into some _strange_ creature? No hope of ever seeing your clan, your village again? Beaten into submission and imprisoned and then forced to cater to the every whim or your jailor. Can you honestly say that this is a good thing? Is this right? Is this just? Who are we to enslave another living creature like this?"

Mei Terumi blinked in surprise. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"I've seen them," Naruto continued. "I've been to visit them in their new homes. I've sat at table with them and their new families. They have lives after so many years of being prisoners. How can you in good conscience take that away from them again?"

The five kage were silent in contemplation. Gaara was looking down at his hands, reconsidering. Mei Terumi was biting her lip. Kitsuchi looked conflicted and Darui looked thoughtful.

"That brings us to another point we'd like to bring up," said Kakashi from where he sat in front of Naruto. He cleared his throat and said, "We've received intelligence that one or all of you haven't obeyed our agreement from the last Five Kage Summit."

"Oh?" wondered Mei Terumi. "What is it we're supposed to have done, Kakashi?"

Naruto whirled on her. "What have you done with Isobu, Mizukage? You promised that your village would not create a jinchuriki but you lied right through your teeth."

"Mizukage!" yelled Kitsuchi jumping up. "How dare you!"

Naruto glared at him. "And you, Tsuchikage. Who did you seal Kokuo into? Did you feel at all guilty for reneging on your promise like you did?"

Kitsuchi glared at Naruto. "My village has not created any jinchuriki. I don't know what you're talking about."

Darui crossed his arms over his chest. "This is a serious accusation, Tsuchikage. We're going to require a full investigation into this matter. And you, Mizukage."

"Oh, I'm not done," yelled Naruto. "Kumo's taken Shukaku and made a bijuu with him." He whirled on Gaara, pointing his finger at the shorter man. "And you, I thought you were my friend, but you've stolen Matatabi and Chomei and created both of the jinchuriki that you wanted. How could you do this, Gaara?"

Gaara and Darui stood up at the table. Gaara turned sad eyes on Naruto. "We have not created any jinchuriki, Naruto. Suna has kept its promise."

"And Kumo as well," said Darui. "Unlike Konoha, we take our promises seriously."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Then why are all the bijuu disappearing? Who else could be taking them?"

"Naruto, you're the only one who has summoning contracts with them," said Gaara. "Suna does not possess summoning contracts for the raccoon dogs, cats, turtles, monkeys, slugs, beetles, or octopi."

The other kage turned to look at each other. Darui turned his head to look at Naruto with a glare. "Konoha has them. Naruto has all of those scrolls as do other ninjas in their village. The Uchiha have often had cat summons. Uchiha Sasuke already has snake and hawk summons, it is likely that he has a cat summoning contact as well."

"I know for a fact that Might Guy has a turtle summons," said Mei Terumi. "And the Sarutobi clan is known for their monkey summons."

Kitsuchi nodded in agreement. "Tsunade had a slug summoning contract and she passed that onto Haruno Sakura. And the Aburame clan is known for their bloodline which involves beetles. They have access to a beetle summoning contract."

Darui raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "Trying to cover your tracks, Konoha? Is one jinchuriki not enough for you? You needed to make five more?"

Kakashi shook his head. "We have not created any new jinchuriki. We only have the one."

Naruto shook his head. "That's the last item I wished to discuss. One of the reasons that we have had so much trouble coming to an agreement about the jinchuriki program is because Konoha still possesses one jinchuriki, me."

"Your point?" asked Kitsuchi.

"Konoha won't ask you to discontinue the jinchuriki program while we still possesses one. I wish to put an end to this cycle of hate forever; therefore, I have decided that I will extract the Kyuubi from myself."

"What?" Kakashi roared, leaping up from his chair. His normally impassive face was furious. "What are you talking about, Naruto? This is my first time hearing about this!"

"I didn't tell you, sensei, because I knew that you wouldn't approve."

"Absolutely not," said Mei Terumi. "You can't do that, Naruto. I forbid it."

"Me too," said Gaara, "under no circumstances can you do this Naruto. You'll die."

"You are much too valuable to do something so foolish," said Kitsuchi.

"Kumo won't stand behind this, Naruto," said Darui.

Kakashi looked at him. It was the most emotion that Naruto had ever seen in his sensei's single eye. "Naruto, don't, please."

Naruto chuckled wryly. "The five kage are finally in agreement. I thought that was impossible. But I'm sorry; this is something that I have to do. I'm living a lie otherwise. You can't stop me. Goodbye, everyone. It's been a blast."

Yamato made to grab him, but Naruto pulled out a familiar three pronged kunai and was gone in a yellow flash.

* * *

**Interlude**

_Naruto walked along the little dirt path that had been worn into the ground by many generations of visitors to Torikku Forest. The delicate fronds of the trees swayed gently in the breeze. The undergrowth was untamed here, very similar to the forests around Konoha. There were ferns sprouting up near the ground, vines grasping and clinging to trees as they climbed towards the sun. There were the beautiful wildflowers growing from the tips of the ferns and branches: pinks and purples and yellows and whites of flowers he didn't know the names of. The trees were a little different here though. They were wilder and older. All the same, they still had that indescribable magical quality of the trees built by Senju Hashirama._

_"This is a beautiful place," mused Naruto. "I bet you'd be happy here."_

_'__**It's not bad**__,' Kurama conceded._

_"Not bad?" Naruto laughed. "It's perfect!" _

_"Who are you talking to?" wondered a voice from a branch above Naruto's head. Naruto glanced up at the little white fox sitting on the branch of a tree. It's rested its head in its front paws. "Why you talking to yourself?"_

_"It's a little hard to explain," said Naruto. "You see—"_

_There was a noise from a tree on the other side of the path and a little vixen with a beautiful red coat, padded down the tree. She must have been able to channel chakra into her paws to allow her to walk down the tree like that. "Fukuyemon, can't you see that it's the jinchuriki?" she scolded. "Inari-sama foretold his coming and that of the Kyuubi no kitsune."_

_Fukuyemon pouted. "I know that, Hoseki. I was just—"_

_The white furred fox climbed down the tree in the same way that the vixen had to stand at Naruto's feet. Now that they were on the ground, Naruto realized that they were bigger than he had first thought. They were larger than the red foxes in the forests outside Konoha. They were more the size of a fully grown dog._

_The vixen stopped in front of Naruto. "We've been waiting for you. Inari-sama asked for us to bring you to him."_


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Yay! The story reached 100 reviews! Thanks so much for all the wonderful support, everyone! You've been my inspiration for the plot twists and the quick updates. Got a ShikaIno moment for everyone to enjoy in the next chapter. ;-) **

**The Naruto/jinchuriki/bijuu subplot will be coming to its conclusion soon and then ROOT's motives will finally be revealed! ****The unsealing Kurama arc goes til Chapter 35 and then the ROOT arc begins in Chapter 36. I've plotted out the rest of the story. It looks like it'll go to Chapter 50 - yikes - and then there'll be several chapters of epilogue. I'm already at 300 pages in MS Word!**

**Were people not surprised by Naruto's dramatic pronouncement in the previous chapter? I thought that was quite shocking myself.**

**Update about the mysteries:**

**Yamato's parentage - Looks like Ashtart is on the right track...**

**The identities of the ROOT leaders and their plans - looks like no one has revealed their thoughts about that yet. All the leaders have been introduced and are running around in various places, I just haven't mapped them out to POSSUM, DRAGON, or SPIDER yet. Does anyone have any theories? **

**Ino, the mindwipes, and the pregnancy - we've got some theories out there and people have guessed who the father's identity is, but we're missing the most important part of it. How and why?  
**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One **

"Chess teaches you to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good and it trains you to think objectively when you're in trouble." - Stanley Kubrick

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

The Land of Hot Water was a two day journey from Konoha. So her ANBU team had to stop for the night in a town near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. It was a small town, with only one or two inns. The village was on a slight incline, the cobblestone streets lined with trees and the brown shingled houses with timber beams visible between the plastered walls of the homes.

The group hid behind trees on the outskirts of town, deciding how to proceed. Shinju removed his eagle mask and nodded at his teammates, indicating that they do the same. "We'll be crossing into enemy territory soon. We won't want to be identified as Konoha shinobi. We'll have to travel in our civilian clothes from now on and suppress our chakra."

Takeshi took off his sparrow mask and nodded in agreement. "Should we change before we head into town?"

Shinju nodded. "Yes. We'll split into two groups and stay in the two different inns. We'll meet north of the city tomorrow at 0700 and proceed into the Land of Hot Water. I'll go with D…"

Sasuke grabbed her arm and interrupted. "I'll go with DOVE. You go with SPARROW."

Shinju crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm the team captain. I get to decide the placements."

Sasuke grip tightened on her arm. It was painful. "Absolutely not."

Shinju's grin turned feral as he eyed her up and down. Hinata had to hold back the shiver of revulsion. She could feel her bones crackling in protest under Sasuke's vice-like grip, but she was happy for it. She didn't like the look in Captain Shinju's eyes. "We'll pretend to be newlyweds. DOVE needs more practice about what's required for infiltration missions. I'm glad to teach her."

"That won't be necessary," said Sasuke coolly.

SPARROW looked put out. "Jeez, HAWK, why don't you let the captain enjoy her for a change?"

Sasuke glared at the both of them. "Well I'm the one who you're forcing to dress up as part of the infiltration. I could use the extra practice with DOVE to learn by part."

Shinju's lips turned up in amusement. "You do raise a good point, HAWK. You and DOVE will make such beautiful geisha. I'll let you enjoy her tonight as long as you promise to practice that dance. Can't have you blowing our cover in front of you know who."

Sasuke's left eyelid twitched in annoyance. "Right."

* * *

**Interlude**

_There was a small hill in the center of Torikku Forest where the great Fox elder Inari lived. It was there that the fox summons led Naruto. He was starting to get concerned about the stubborn silence from Kurama. The fox bijuu hadn't spoken since that pity comment about the forest a couple hours ago._

_'_Kurama, quit giving me the cold shoulder would you? This is important. I want to know what you would like me to say to Inari_.'_

_Kurama was stubbornly silent._

_'_There was some drama with getting the other bijuu settled into their new homes, I want to make sure that it goes smoothly for you. I want to get this done before I unseal you_.'_

_'__**Don't tempt me with what I can never have, Naruto**__,' came the grumbling voice of Kurama finally. '__**I can never be free while you live. I've rather you'd never come to this place**__.'_

_Naruto sighed in annoyance. '_I've told you already, I refuse to die before I become Hokage and I refuse to become Hokage until I've done right by you and the other bijuu Kurama_.'_

_'__**We both know that you must choose only one of those dreams. You can't accomplish both. It's suicide**__.'_

_'_My mother survived your unsealing, so will I."

_"__**Uzumaki Mito did not. And you mother perished soon after. You will die if you unseal me, Naruto. If you think otherwise, you're only deluding yourself**__.'_

_Naruto quirked his lips in amusement and said aloud with a laugh, "'I'm touched by your concern."_

_The little white fox summon turned back to Naruto with a key in his mouth. "Talking to yourself again, human?"_

_"Er," said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah. Let's go with that."_

_"He's communicating with the Kyuubi no Kitsune," said Hoseki, "that horrible beast which derives its strength from the darkness in men's souls. We're bringing him to Inariyama Hill, our most sacred place, and before the face of our great elder. It's a crime to defile our most sacred place like this."_

_Fukuyemon looked apologetic. "Inari-sama will decide. Come, we're almost there."_

_Naruto gazed in wonder at the path ahead. It was lined by thousands of orange torii placed in close intervals up the hill. Kanji had been carved into the wood and painted with teal ink. They were the prayers and promises of generations of fox summons._

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

The Hyuga girl had trailed a step behind him the whole way to the inn. Now as they walked up the stairs to their room, she seemed to be in a daze. When they reached their room, he whirled around and grabbed her arm, pulling her ahead to stand in front of him, "Come on, DOVE, you're pretending to be my wife, don't look quite so subservient. It's annoying."

Her pearlescent eyes were frightened. "I don't understand what's going on. What was EAGLE…?"

He twisted the key in the lock and pushed her inside. "That's the kind of captain Shinju is. He's rape you if you give him the opportunity."

Her eyes fluttered, trying to hold in tears. Her pale eyes watered. "But…he…he can't right?"

Sasuke curled his lip and stared her down. "He can and he will if you give him an inch." He advanced on her and she backed away from him in fright. "I've heard stories of ANBU kunoichi being taken advantage of by their shinobi ANBU captains. Shinju's the type of guy who'll convince you that the only way he'll give a good recommendation is if you offer him some incentive."

"In-incentive?" wondered the girl. She gasped as her back finally hit against the wall and she was boxed in with the unyielding wall on one side and his unyielding form on the other.

He gripped her hips suggestively, pulling her towards him. "The proper incentive."

She flinched away. "I don't…I don't understand."

His eyes sparkled dangerously. "He's been itching to get you alone. Haven't you noticed how he undresses you with his eyes?"

"I-I-" she stuttered.

His breath was warm against her ear as he taunted, "You shouldn't have joined ANBU, _dove_. What it really Neji that compelled you to enlist? Or did you hope to catch Naruto's attention. Hasn't been working too well for you, has it?"

"I didn't… that is … I wasn't…" she gasped out, her body trembling like a leaf against him.

"Why Naruto? What is it about him that makes you do such foolish things?"

She started when he grabbed her chin and forced her head up so that they looked eye to eye. She searched his eyes for her answer. "I…I…"

His eyes burned into hers. "Tell me."

"It's because I love him," she whispered.

He let go of her chin and finally stepped away from her. "I see."

He walked to his pack and the Hyuga girl slid down the wall, her trembling legs no longer able to support her. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Sending a letter to Kakashi," said Sasuke.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two **

"Experience and the constant analysis of the most varied positions builds up a store of knowledge in a player's mind enabling him often at a glance to assess this or that position." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Interlude**

_The fox summons led Naruto through the path up the mountain and paused before a bridge spanning a small lake. A gilded arch stretched across the entrance to the bridge, making it difficult to see the temple ahead. His two guides inclined their heads. "You will proceed alone from here."_

_"I'm never alone," Naruto countered in reply._

_Naruto passed the two foxes and wandered across the bridge. His heart thudded in his chest. What would the Fox Boss have to say to him and Kurama?_

_The temple for Inari was an immense structure built on the other side of the large bridge. The tower didn't climb very high into the sky, but the facade was very ornate with gilding along the peaked towers and marble floors. His ninja sandals echoed hollowly in the immense hall. The ceiling stretched hundreds of feet in the air. Naruto was certain that Gamabunta could stand comfortably in the hall. The large toad's warty head wouldn't even be able to touch the ceiling. Inari must be similarly massive._

_A loud voice grumbled from behind the closed door at the end of the hall. "I've been waiting for you."_

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Ino's voice was a breathless giggle in his ear, "What am I going to do with you if you keep stealing my panties, Shika?" He wasn't able to do anything but let out a groan as she sunk onto him.

It had started with a little harmless teasing. Shikamaru, who was always entranced by her skirts before, found them completely marvelous now. Skirts were the shinobi world's greatest invention. While Ino was wearing a skirt, the number of their spontaneous lovemakings increased by 50%. He'd done the calculations in his head using a sample size of the two weeks that they'd been secretly married. When she was wearing a skirt and no panties, that number jumped up to 225%. Therefore, to promote this behavior from his fake secret/secret fake wife, he'd decided to start hiding all her underwear and her pants.

After she had gotten back from T&I early that evening and was making them dinner, he'd found that white skirt in her closet that she had worn when they first made love and asked if she could wear it for him. She had refused, picking up a new red one that she's bought instead. He teased her, asking if the white one had gotten too small. She _was_ getting a little bigger around the middle. She really needed to get serious about her training again. She wasn't fat by any stretch of the imagination, but she was curvier than she'd been before the war.

She had backed him into the living room and pushed him into a chair. She screamed and yelled, calling him an insensitive bastard. Then she had one of those 180 degree mood swings that were so infuriating and so charming and decided to punish him by riding him without mercy until he'd come. Kami, he was a lucky bastard.

He let out another moan, his hands gripping her hips tightly as his fingers caressed that little patch of skin visible between the band of her red skirt and the top of her shirt. She gasped as he thrust up into her, letting out a keening moan. She sunk down on him again as he panted, "Ino, I'll do whatever the hell you want me to."

"Oh, Shika!" she whimpered, as he began working her over with his fingers. She arched and bucked and moaned on top of him.

When he was a little younger, he might have felt emasculated by the fact Ino always wanted to be on top, but now he was older and wiser and more experienced in the ways of the world. She was sexy as hell riding him like that, so he was content to keep her happy. Besides, when he let her be on top, it increased his chances of having a repeat performance later that day from 45% to 95%. He liked those odds.

He thrust up into her again as she writhed on top of him, so close to release. "Oh, Kami, Shika," she moaned and gasped. "Oh, please! Oh, Kami!"

There was a puff of smoke in the living room. Ino gasped in surprise and grabbed Shikamaru's hair in a vice-like grip. He panted into her shoulder.

"Well," said Kakashi. "I wasn't expecting that."

Yamato just gaped at the pair of them, blushing bright red.

Kakashi elbowed the other man. "Come on, Yamato, you're embarrassing me. It's like you've never seen someone having sex before."

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Shikamaru hollered at Kakashi and Yamato. Ino was still sitting on top of him with his cock buried deep inside her.

Ino panted into his shoulder, trying to regain her composure. She shuttered and moaned on top of him. "Shika," her voice was a whisper. "You're still—"

His hands gripped her hip and groaned, "I'm fully aware, Ino." He turned his eyes on Yamato, who had whirled around and refused to look at them, and Kakashi who was staring completely unabashed. "You two better have a good reason to be here."

Kakashi pouted. He was enjoying embarrassing the two of them way too much. "And we just got back from the Five Kage Summit meeting ensuring that your little elopement didn't cause any controversy with the Raikage, and this is the thanks you give me? C looked uber pissed off. I guess he was hoping to be in your seat, Shikamaru."

Ino shifted on top of him. "C? Is that who Koharu engaged me to?"

Shikamaru didn't particularly like Kakashi's choice of words.

Kakashi continued, "Apparently Koharu went a little bit too far and was writing love letters back and forth to the Raikage's adviser. They wanted you sent to Kumo in chains."

Ino wriggled on his lap. "Shika, you made it sound like they'd engaged me to some ancient shinobi with warts and one arm from Iwa. C's not so bad. We shouldn't have been so mean and trick him like we did."

Kami, all that wriggling - he couldn't climax in front of Kakashi. He would rather slit his own throat. "Can we please have this conversation while I'm not buried inside you in front the Hokage and Yamato?"

"Right," said Kakashi. "There is actually a reason why we're here."

"Is Naruto not with you then?" wondered Ino, fidgeting around on top of him to try to see behind her.

"Kami, Ino," he moaned, clutching her hips tightly and trying to hold her in place. "Please, stop that."

"Where's Naruto?" asked Ino, completely breathless.

"He's trying to extract the Kyuubi from himself."

Shikamaru's brain took a little bit longer than normal to move from (Ino impaling herself on his erection) to (Naruto extracting the Kyuubi from himself). He sat up asking, "He's doing what?"

Ino let out a low moan.

Yamato made a hand sign and said, "I can't take it any longer. Even if I'm not facing them, it's still like I'm watching them have sex. I'm going to get Sakura and try to find Naruto."

"But we don't know where he went," said Kakashi. "He used his father's jutsu and disappeared. He could literally be anywhere. What if he's in the land of the summons? How on earth will we find him in time?"

Ino panted in his ear and he was having trouble focusing on anything but thrusting up into her and finishing. "Shikamaru," she moaned.

"Ino," he warned.

She gasped out, "Do you think he'll do it outside the city where the sealing was first completed? That seems like something he would do."

Shikamaru nodded dumbly. "Yes. That's probably where he is. We'll meet you over there, Kakashi."

"Right," said the Hokage before they both disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Oh, Kami," gasped out Shikamaru. "I can't wait much longer."

He lifted her out of the chair and she wrapped her long legs around him moaning. "Please, Shikamaru!"

He dropped her on the coffee table in the center of the room and pounded into her. Ino writhed beneath him, a flurry of blonde hair and pale skin, moaning for him. Her legs gripped him tightly as she begged him to make her come. Feeling furious at the intrusion, embarrassed beyond measure, and turned on to the point that it was almost painful, it didn't take much both of them to finally spiral into ecstasy.

Ino let her head fall back on the coffee table and panted. "Oh, Kami. That was…I don't even know what to say. That was probably the weirdest sexual experience of my life. I was so terrified that I was going to climax right in front of the Hokage with you moving around like that inside me. Oh, Kami!"

"Well at least we had all our clothes on," Shikamaru commented as he sat back. He liked the image of Ino sprawled out on her coffee table like that. "And you were sitting on me, so they couldn't actually see anything."

Ino slammed the back of her head against the table. "That doesn't make me feel any better. Oh, Kami, I'm so embarrassed. Anko and Kakashi are never going to let me hear the end of this."

"Don't remind me," said Shikamaru, picking up his boxers and his pants. "I might wash up a little bit before trying to find Naruto. How about you?"

"I'm all sticky," whined Ino. "And I never want to see Kakashi or Yamato again."

"Maybe you could do a mindwipe?" wondered Shikamaru.

"I would never have thought of that. You're a genius, Shikamaru," grinned Ino, sitting up. She grabbed his face and kissed him quickly on the lips. "A real genius. And then I can mindwipe both of us!"

* * *

**Interlude**

_The massive white fox's head rested in his front paws. The paws were ringed with crimson patches along his wrists and his magnificent tail waved behind him, ringed in golden tail rings. His neck was similarly adorned with a ruby studded collar. The fox sat on a cushion of crimson velvet, watching Naruto curiously._

_"The Jinchuriki and Kyuubi no Kitsune," said the fox. "I've heard tales of your travels to the other realms of the summons."_

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Er, yeah, we've-"_

_The fox continued, "I've also heard about how the freed bijuu have joined the lands of the summons. But why have you come here? The Kyuubi no Kitsune is still your prisoner."_

_"Kurama will not always be my prisoner."_

_Inari raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto with curious golden eyes. "Indeed. Have you come to speak for the fox? Or will you allow him to speak for himself."_

_"_Kurama_?" asked Naruto in his own mindscape._

_"__**I will speak on my own behalf**__," Kurama answered taking possession of Naruto's body._

_Inari lifted himself onto his paws and padded down from the large velvet cushion. Pacing around Naruto he said, "You are a spirit, a creature of heaven and earth. You don't belong here. Why should I let you enter my realm and become one of us?"_

_"__**You fear my power**__," said Kurama. "__**You would be right to. I could crush your pitiful realm with a swing of one of my tails**__."_

_"_Kurama_," warned Naruto in his mind, "_you're not helping your case_."_

_"If we are so insignificant, why have you come here? Do you seek to rule us?"_

_"__**I have no interest of becoming a king or a god. I only wish to live my life as my own**__**ruler**__."_

_"Then you wish for freedom?"_

_"__**Above all else," **__said Kurama. He paused for a moment and amended__**, "If the cost is tolerable**__."_

_"Then you will be allowed to enter our lands and become a citizen of our realm when you are free."_

_Kurama released his control and allowed Naruto to take back control of his body._

_"Thank you, Inari-sama," said Naruto._

_"You may sign our sealing scroll on your way out of the village," said Inari. "Fukuyemon is waiting for you with it."_


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three **

"Voltaire said once that he was ruined twice, once when he lost a lawsuit, and once when he won one. In the same way, a beginner at chess must get somewhat discouraged, for he loses if he accepts a sacrificed piece, but he also loses if he declines it." - Tony Santasierev

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

After the very strange meeting with Shikamaru and Ino, Kakashi body flickered to the little clearing outside the village. He hadn't been there in years - nearly seventeen to be exact.

Seventeen years ago the only evidence of the terrible battle that had been waged there between the Kyuubi, Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina had been the piles of earth dug up by the beast's claws and the circular holes in the ground where Kushina had used a special jutsu to keep the beast in place.

There hadn't even been any blood when Kakashi went last time. The area must have been cleaned up by the other ANBU. Sarutobi had made sure that Kakashi wasn't among the clean up team. He was grateful for that.

He never thought he'd have to return seventeen years later to prevent his sensei's son from making the same foolish sacrifice.

He arrived just as Naruto finished painting a seal on the ground. It was massive and beautiful. Naruto's normally unreadable penmanship was flawless when executing seals.

"Naruto, stop!" Kakashi yelled hoarsely, running towards the boy.

Naruto slammed his hands on the ground and activated the seal. A huge barrier came to existence between them. Kakashi hit against it and bounced back unharmed.

"Don't do it Naruto!"

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," he said.

* * *

**Interlude**

_The village was on fire. Buildings fell like matchsticks from a swing of the beast's mighty tails. Homes and businesses burst into flames, consuming others in the conflagration. Kakashi and the rest of his chunin classmates where ushered into the forest outside the city by Kurenai's father and several other jonin._

_The chakra was like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was so dense and dark and frightening. He had felt killing intent from other ninjas, but not of this magnitude. It was so dark that Kakashi just wanted to curl up and die. _

_Where was sensei? Where was the Yondaime Hokage?_

_The Sandaime had mustered the older ninjas of the village and was leading the attack on the beast, trying to force it out of the village. But where was sensei? He had laid low battalions of Iwa ninjas during the war. If anyone could bring down the Kyuubi no Kitsune, it would be Namikaze Minato._

_Kurenai was arguing with her father and Kakashi wasn't sure if he wanted to argue along with her or not. He wanted to run through the village and find his sensei. Was Minato with Kushina? She was massively pregnant, due any day now. Where was she, where were they? Kakashi prayed that their son would be alright. The hospital was one of the first buildings to be obliterated by the bijuu's rampage._

_Kurenai's father shunshined away to join in the fighting and Kakashi and his classmates were left alone to sit and watch their village razed to the ground._

_"Where's the Yondaima Hokage?" someone asked from behind him._

_Kakashi turned back the voice and saw the concerned eyes of Shiranui Genma. "He'll be here," said Kakashi. "He'll come."_

_Minato couldn't be dead. He couldn't have died during the leveling of the hospital. He just couldn't have._

_There was a sudden unearthly quiet that sent a shiver down Kakashi's spine. That deadly chakra felt distant as if it had been…_

_"The Yondaime Hokage! It's his jutsu," hollered a Hyuga clan member towards the back of the group. He had his Byuakugan activated in the direction of Konoha as he watched the battle rage between the ninja of his village and the terrible beast. "Minato-sama's sent the Kyuubi outside the village!"_

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

Sakura yawned and leaned back in her chair. She had read that same line on the page three separate times. The mighty tome about internal medicine might have been interesting if it wasn't so close to her bedtime. She closed the book and wandered over to the window. She had a beautiful view of the Hokage Monument from her bedroom window. Maybe that was why she had always been so interested in becoming a kunoichi. She had spent her childhood looking out that window and daydreaming.

She wondered when Naruto would get…

She jumped back as Yamato's face appeared in front of her in the window. The ANBU commander breathed a sigh of relief and pulled open the window to climb into her bedroom.

"Captain Yamato, what are you…" began Sakura.

"Thank Kami you're home. Hurry, there's an emergency."

By his pale face and trembling hands, she knew something was seriously wrong. Captain Yamato was usually impossible to catch by surprise. He was a true ANBU operative. That could only mean one of two things.

"It's Naruto isn't it?" Sakura gasped out. Her hands were trembling now too. "He said some strange things to me before leaving for his mission. What's happened?"

"He's planning to unseal the Kyuubi from himself."

"What!" Sakura screamed. "Where is he?"

"Outside the village where his father unsealed him. Hurry, we don't have much time. He might have started without us."

They made the signs for the body flicker jutsu and appeared on the edge of the village. The Hokage was a hundred yards ahead of them, screaming and beating against a barrier. The immense purple rectangle was impenetrable even to Kakashi. When had Naruto become a sealing master?

Shikamaru and Ino appeared in a puff of smoke next to them. "Shit," gasped the Nara genius. "He's already started."

Sakura was already off running towards the barrier, channeling chakra to her fists. She would beat through that barrier if she had to.

Within the barrier, Naruto sat cross legged with his eyes closed as he channeled chakra carefully and wove hundreds of handsigns. She would have been impressed if the situation wasn't so dire. She arrived at the barrier a few seconds before the others only to be blown off her feet by a huge blast of chakra from within.

He'd begun.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: A lot of the dialogue and action in the interludes is taken directly from the manga. I took pieces from chapters 611 through 613. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

"People sometimes complain that there are fewer 'brilliant' sacrifices than there used to be in the past. However, the point is that players just don't allow them anymore!" - Alexander Grischuk

* * *

**Interlude**

_"You…you are just another ignorant shinobi pawn…you too…no, everyone here will one day be like me," Uchiha Obito taunted._

_"I'll never become like you!" Naruto yelled "I'll say it as many times as I need to: I'm going to become the Hokage!"_

_Obito sneered at his sensei's son. "Have no fear…if everything goes well, there will no ninjutsu that can defy the infinite tsukiyomi and within it, you shall become Hokage." _

_The Juubi powered up another bijuu bomb at point blank range. "So…Disappear," Obito concluded._

_Behind him, Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, and Killer B-sensei each took a deep breath. Who were they thinking about as death stared them in the face? Naruto could sense his friends coming, would they get there in time? Naruto closed his eyes and prayed. This last thought was of Sakura's smiling face just behind his eyelids._

_The bijuu bomb rocketed just off to the side, clearing a ravine of destruction clear out to sea. Behind him, someone gasped, "It missed?"_

_Suddenly they were all gathered behind him, his friends. Hinata and Ino had redirected the Juubi's terrible attack. Shino and his clan and the Kiri ninjas sent out jutsu to hide everyone's presence. Behind him, his comrades from Konoha and their allies from Kiri and Kumo and Iwa and Suna gathered._

_"We got your back, Naruto!" Choji yelled._

_Karui and Omoi ran over to their sensei with wide grins. Lee, Sai, Shizune, and Sakura ran to make sure that Kakashi and Gai were alright._

_"First battalion arrived," came Darui's proud voice from behind him._

_"Second battalion arrived," Kitsuchi bellowed._

_"Third battalion arrived!" called one his Konoha comrades._

_"Fourth battalion arrived," said Shikamaru standing in front his group._

_"Same goes for the Fifth battalion!" yelled the samurai, Mifune._

_"The medical squad is here too!" shouted Shizune._

_"Sensing squad present!" proclaimed C from Kumogakure._

_The enemy sneered and swept away the mist covering the battlefield. Naruto stood in front of the army holding out his hands in the handsigns for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He couldn't hide his proud and confident smile. "Take a good look because what we have here is the Ninja Alliance Jutsu, the most terrifying and awesome jutsu in ninja history! _

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

It was hard to concentrate with his friends screaming and beating against the barrier he'd put up. He was glad that he's put it up, though it had used a larger portion of his chakra than he would have liked. They might have been able to stop him otherwise.

"**Don't do this, Naruto**," said Kurama. "**Uzumaki Mito waited until she was about to die before unsealing me. You should do the same. There's no need to throw away your life like this."**

Naruto chuckled to himself. "_How can I ever become Hokage if I can't keep a simple promise to a friend?"_

"**I suppose I shouldn't be surprised**," Kurama groused. "**This foolish stunt is precisely the sort of thing you would do**."

"_This is the only way that I can break the cycle of hate_," said Naruto. "_I need to set an example for others to follow_."

"**How can you do that when you're dead**?"

"I promise that I won't die," said Naruto aloud. "Now stop distracting me. This is really difficult. I need to concentrate."

"**Then get started, Naruto**," said Kurama. "**Please be careful**."

He needed to be very precise with his chakra output. He had thought about storing chakra like Sakura did and then using some of that later, but he didn't have precise enough chakra control to accomplish something like that. He tried for several weeks, but it didn't work for him.

In all the books and lectures Shikamaru had given him on the subject, Naruto learned that that the user needed to expend an equal or greater amount of chakra as they were unsealing for it to work. That was why the Akatsuki had used all their members to unseal the bijuu. In that way, they could spread the burden of the chakra expenditure among their members.

Naruto had no such luxury.

Uzumaki Mito's had been super old when she had Kurama unsealed. But she hadn't been the one to do it. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Hatake Sakumo, Senju Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had all assisted her in the unsealing the Kyuubi from Mito and sealing it into Kushina. He'd read about it in the secret Hokage scrolls.

Mito had died after the Kyuubi was unsealed. Much of her chakra was used up in the process as the Kyuubi had tried to resist being sealed into a new prison. She had also been like a hundred years old, so she might have just died of old age.

But in all his readings, no one had ever removed a bijuu from themself alone. It just wasn't done. There were always several people and several chakra sources involved in the process.

His father had done it after the war and gave the rest of Kurama's chakra to him sealed into a beautiful little fox statue. Minato had used his own chakra to unseal the Kyuubi, but he was an Edo Tensei shinobi. When Minato did it, he brought himself to the brink of death and then regenerated like fifty times before he was done. His dad's chakra supply wasn't as big as Naruto's, but his chakra control was flawless.

That didn't bode well for Naruto.

The Kyuubi just had a ridiculous amount of chakra! Naruto himself had like four times the amount of chakra of an average jonin, but Kurama had like 100 times the chakra of an average jonin!

It had taken him almost a month to come up with this plan. He had thought about asking Shikamaru for help and being vague about the particulars, but he knew that Shikamaru would latch onto his intentions in a second if he revealed too much.

So Naruto decided to try something else. He could access three different chakra sources after all! He could use sage chakra to unseal Kurama's chakra! Sage chakra was something that he could replenish as he went along! Why had no one thought of it before? When he was in sage mode, he could double his chakra and the kyuubi's chakra. It was genius!

Naruto split Kurama's chakra into ten parts. He had tested this a couple times and discovered that he usually needed to expend ten times as much chakra as he was unsealing in order to accomplish the task. He would focus on unsealing just one part at a time and replenish his sage chakra as he went. Then he could combine the remaining nine parts together and split them into ten parts again and repeat the process until he was left with an amount of the Kurama's chakra that he could handle on his own. He would wait until the very end before using his own chakra.

Sitting down on the grass and focusing on being utterly still, Naruto went into Sage Mode. He focused on only one part of the ten Kyuubi chakra units. The Kyuubi's chakra cloak bubbled around him as he wove hundreds of handsigns to cast the jutsu. He had practiced for weeks with hundreds of shadow clones, making sure that he didn't forget a single handsign.

Kami, this was going to take forever. He wasn't that good at math, but he'd done the calculations. He wished that he could have had Shikamaru or Sakura check them, but what would they say when he showed them the equation?

Naruto, are you trying to unseal the Kyuubi? Are you crazy?

Luckily it would only take about a minute to unseal each portion of the Kyuubi's chakra, but he would have to do it like thirty-five times. Though after the tenth time he could start breaking Kurama's chakra into ninths, then after the twentieth time into eights, and then after the twenty-fifth time he could break it into large pieces about every other time, so that would make the process go faster.

It took almost forty minutes, but Kurama was finally free from his prison within Naruto. Naruto stood up from the ground, stretching. He was creaky from sitting utterly still for so long. Taking out the little statue that his father had given him, he released the remainder of Kurama's chakra.

The ying and yang aspects merged together until finally Kurama towered in front of Naruto, massive and red furred and wondrous. Naruto fell to his knees, more exhausted than he'd ever been in his entire life. He wove the handsigns for his last jutsu. He had just enough chakra left to send Kurama to his new home.

"You're a fool, Naruto!" yelled Kurama. Naruto was surprised to see tear's in the Kyuubi's eyes.

Turning to Kurama with a smile, he said, "Say hi to Inari, Fukuyemon, and Hoseki for me."

Kurama realized a second too late what Naruto was about to do. It seemed that Naruto had spent most of his day taking his friends by surprise. Slamming his hands down on the ground, Naruto called out, "Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The Kyuubi disappeared with a roar and Naruto collapsed against the grass. He looked up at the sky with a smile. He had done it! He closed his eyes, finally surrendering to oblivion.

* * *

**Interlude**

_"We need a frigging medic," Naruto shrieked in horror as Neji fell into his arms._

_"No, it's too late," Neji gurgled._

_"Neji," Naruto rasped._

_Neji coughed and Naruto could feel the blood dripping down his back._

_"Ni-san," whispered Hinata._

_Naruto gasped out, "Why, Neji, not in a place like this! You're the Hyuga's—"_

_Neji coughed again and said with a smile in his voice, "The words you said to me once freed me from the shackles of my curse-"_

_Scalding tears dripped from his eyes. "Why would you go this far for me…?! Sacrificing your life!"_

_The Hyuga genius gripped Naruto tighter, blood dribbling out of his mouth. "Because, I was called a genius…"_

_Naruto helped him onto the ground and screamed again for a medic. The cursed seal was already beginning to fade from Neji's forehead. Hinata was holding Neji's hand and weeping bitterly. Neji's smile was so peaceful. He smiled at both of them before looking up into the sky. There was a far away look in his eyes as he whispered, "I finally understand, father, the freedom of being able to choose your own death..."_

_Naruto looked down in horror as Neji breathed his last. Around him his friends were whispering, was Neji dead? Impossible! Obito's words began to weave a spell on him. How could this have happened? He promised that he wouldn't allow any of his friends to die. He had reneged on his promise again just as he had with Sakura and Sasuke. He-_

**_"It's no longer just your own life, little shit!"_**_ called the familiar voice of Kurama inside him. __**"Have you forgotten that I'm here?"**_

_Naruto blinked in surprise. _"I know that! Breaking my bonds with my comrades isn't even an option. But…the truth of the matter is… Neji is-"

**_"If you're going to sulk like a school girl, I may as well beat the shit out of you and take control of your body now!"_**_ Kurama taunted. __**"Have you forgotten? The moment you entered this world, your parents without a moment's hesitation did as Neji has done. They gave their lives sealing me, their mortal enemy, inside their own son for the sake of the future. From the very beginning, your life, my life, their lives, and all the lives here have shared an unbreakable bond!"**_

"You're right, Kurama,"_ muttered Naruto, "_thank you for putting my head on straight again."

**_"Oh, whatever,"_**_ said Kurama. __**"Let's go kick their asses, Naruto!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Please review!**_**  
**_


	35. Chapter 35

**The Endgame  
**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game. After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame. But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived. - Edmar Mednis

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

That noble idiot. Ino was sobbing next to him, beating on the barrier. "Take it down, Shikamaru. He might still be alive."

Naruto was lying so still in the barrier. Shikamaru didn't see how he could be alive. He had used so much chakra unsealing the Kyuubi from himself. It was chilling watching all that red and blue chakra flowing out of his body. And even before unsealing the Kyuubi, he had erected this impenetrable barrier and then after all that forced a reverse summon on the Kyuubi.

No one had enough chakra to accomplish that, not even Naruto.

Shikamaru had done research about the sealing and unsealing of bijuu with Naruto. Removing bijuu was damned tricky. The chakra required to extract a bijuu had to be equal to the chakra of the bijuu that was being extracted if you didn't have a tool like the Sharingan or Rinnegan at your disposal. Several ninjas could combine their chakra together and extract the bijuu chakra, or you could rely on the chakra from the host and use that to extract the bijuu. If the host ran out of chakra, only part of the bijuu would be extracted, so it was usually good to use both the host's chakra and the chakra of allies.

That was assuming that you had perfect chakra control. If you had average chakra control, you might need to expend three or four times that amount. And Naruto had such poor chakra control…

He had…he had helped Naruto acquire the knowledge to do this. He was never going to forgive himself if Naruto…

There was an explosion of chakra next to them as Sakura released the Yin Seal on her forehead. The seal glowed and spread as her chakra levels increased exponentially.

"Sakura," Ino gasped. "You've been saving up chakra for three years to make that seal!"

"This is more important!" the Haruno girl yelled. She was staring intently at the still form of the blonde boy inside the barrier.

"Hurry, Shika!" Ino yelled.

"It's really strong," Shikamaru muttered. "It's going to take a little while. Just let me concentrate."

Ino nodded. She ran over to Sakura who was trying to beat down the barrier with her monster strength. That wasn't working either.

He focused on the points of the seal, trying to find a weakness. Naruto was a fool, but his skill at Fuuinjutsu couldn't be denied. It was in his blood. The barrier was flawless.

Damn.

He couldn't even overpower it with his own chakra. Naruto had used more chakra to put up the barrier than Shikamaru even had in his own body. Why would he waste chakra on something like this? Was he that set on preventing them from stopping him, the stubborn fool?

"Sakura," whispered Ino. "If the barrier he put up is still standing strong, it could mean that he's…"

The barrier fell.

"Shika?" asked Ino.

"It wasn't me," he said.

"Oh, Kami," said Ino.

Sakura took a gasping breath before racing into the barrier.

* * *

**Interlude**

_She could hear Ino downstairs talking with her mom. She closed her eyes, willing away their voices, but they drifted up to her bedroom._

_"She's upstairs, isn't she? I can see her light on," said Ino._

_"I'm sorry, Ino," her mother apologized, "but Sakura's trying to prepare herself for this mission. She doesn't want to see anyone."_

_There was an awkward pause before her friend continued, "I understand. It must be an important mission. Teams 7 and 8 seem to be really gearing up for something special."_

_Sakura raised her head from the pillow and bit her lip. It sure was something special. They were going to hunt down Uchiha Itachi so that they could intercept Sasuke and take him back to Konoha. Kami, how was Naruto going to take it if he was unsuccessful again?_

_But how could they be successful. Sakura had a terrible foreboding. Even if they found both of the Uchiha brothers, they would never be able to convince Sasuke to return to Konoha. They would have to kill him, he was simply too dangerous. That would be how the mission would end. She was almost certain._

_She couldn't let Naruto have to endure the pain of killing his best friend. She couldn't bear it._

_Her mother's voice interrupted her thoughts. "She's been staring at that photo of her genin squad all day."_

_"It must be something about Sasuke then," Ino reasoned. "I wonder what's going on."_

_"I only know as much as you do, Ino-chan. Sakura seems really upset about her mission."_

_He said it was the promise of a lifetime when he went to retrieve Sasuke all those years ago and then turned up, unsuccessful and gravely injured. She had thought she was in love with Sasuke then. Back then she had been in love with the idea of love, with a mysterious and beautiful boy. He was like an empty stage that she could project her fantasies of love onto._

_She could see how wrong she was now. Now she knew another love, a true love. She knew how returning the love of someone could make you stronger, could make you better. How love could bring joy and pride to your heart instead of sorry and guilt._

_She didn't deserve him, that strong, honorable, wonderful man. But he thought that she was still in love with Sasuke. His jinchuriki heart was so shattered that he couldn't understand how anyone could love him. He treated all of his friendships like sacred things. It was as if he was convinced that she or Shikamaru or Iruka or Jiraiya would just turn around one day and say that they had changed their minds and didn't want to be his friends anymore. _

_Naruto's heart was so pure that he believed Sasuke could still be saved, that he could be brought back from the darkness. Sakura wished she could have that kind of optimism too, but she knew that it was hopeless. All Sasuke had ever done was break both of their hearts. _

_But she could do something for Naruto. She could put an end to the last Uchiha, so Naruto wouldn't have the pain of having to do it himself. Naruto would never be the same if he had to kill Sasuke. She wouldn't either, but she could bear the darkness well enough. _

_Naruto had shouldered so much darkness; he didn't need this burden as well._

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

The tears burned down her face as she ran to the crumbled figure in the center of the barrier.

Don't be dead…don't be dead…don't be dead.

She could feel all the chakra that she had stored up for years burning through her body. It hurt; it hurt like fire through her veins.

Why didn't she get Chiyo to teach her that life giving jutsu?

Shikamaru and Ino were running behind her. Yamato and Kakashi raced in from the other side, where they had been trying to break down the barrier themselves.

She dropped to her knees next to Naruto's body and rolled him over. She put her hands to his chest and started the emergency medical treatment. She could barely see what she was doing through her tears.

She didn't understand how, but there was still a little stream of chakra in his system.

He was truly amazing.

His heartbeat was slow and his breathing unsteady.

Sakura focused on an emergency chakra transfusion. She glanced up at Ino as the blonde girl ran up to her. "Ino," she snapped. "I need you to administer a shock to his heart to get it regulated again."

Ino fell to her knees next to her. "Sakura, is he...?"

She smiled through her tears. "I don't know how, but he's still alive."

Ino let out a breath and put a hand over her breast. "Thank Kami!" She fell to her knees across from Sakura. "I've got it."

Yamato and Kakashi ran up, "Is he…?"

"He's still alive," whispered Shikamaru to them.

Kakashi stared at the body of his student so still on the ground. A tear dripped from his eye. "That Naruto," he said. "He was probably stupid to die."

"But he's our idiot." Yamato smiled.

"Every village needs one," agreed Kakashi.

Sakura glared back at them as she was working on the emergency chakra transfusion. "Don't test me, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi grimaced. "Right, sorry. I'm just so relieved that he's alright."

Ino focused a small spark of lightening style chakra on her fingers. She shifted over the blonde boy's body before putting her fingers down on his chest and sending the spark downward into his chest; Naruto's body spasmed in response.

The blonde kunoichi checked his pulse with two fingers. "Pulse is normal." She put her ear over his mouth and looked down at the slight rise and fall of his chest and his breath puffing onto her face. "Breathing's normal."

Sakura's tears were dripping onto her hands as she focused on pouring more of her chakra into him. He had lost so much chakra. Thank Kami that she'd released the Yin Seal. If not, she would have run out of chakra long ago. She worked on pushing her chakra through his chakra network. If his chakra stopped flowing he would die. He was so chakra exhausted that what little chakra he had left had stopped flowing. His chakra network was so wide and confusing. How could anyone have enough chakra to fill this?

"I did it!" rasped a familiar voice. "I knew I wouldn't die."

She started, looking down at him. "Naruto, you idiot," Sakura hollered, "You're so reckless with your own life. Why did I have to fall in love with such a foolish shinobi?"

"Fall in love?" whispered Naruto.

"Yes, idiot," she sobbed. "Never ever do that to me again. I thought-"

He put a hand to her check and wiped away the tears dripping down her cheeks. His smile was like the sun breaking through the clouds. "It's going to be alright, Sakura."

He glanced around at the others. "Hey, what's up, guys?" he grinned as if he hadn't just stopped all their hearts. He looked around. "Where's Sasuke. Was he busy?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, focusing on healing his wounds. "He's probably at home not having a heart attack, unlike the rest of us."

He grinned, "Er, sorry about that."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six **

"A Queen's sacrifice, even when fairly obvious, always rejoices the heart of the chess-lover." - Savielly Tartakower

* * *

**Interlude**

_Ino stood ramrod straight in the small room at the base of the Hokage Tower that Danzo used as an office. She had never been summoned to the Root leader's office before, and she couldn't understand why she was now._

_She only knew Danzo by reputation. Lady Tsunade and her teacher Shizune despised the man. They thought that he was a power hungry bottom feeder, hiding in the shadows trying to increase his own power and prestige. That association alone made her want to spit at Yamanaka Fu's feet when he arrived at her house to summon her to Danzo. Her father was at the T&I department that day, so he wouldn't scold her for disrespecting another clan member. _

_However, Danzo was a staunch nationalist. He believed in the might of Konoha before all else, so she had to respect that at least._

_Fu led her into the room, nodded to Danzo, and left. Three ROOT ninjas stood in the back of the office with her and Danzo. They were hooded and cloaked, their faces hidden behind masks. _

_DRAGON was the tallest of the bunch and SPIDER was the smallest. POSSUM fell somewhere in the middle. Ino suspected that SPIDER was a woman from her slight feminine frame. She was petite, even shorter and slighter than Ino, who was willowy and tall. _

_Danzo sat at his desk flipping through a folder. He looked up after a beat. He offered her a smile which didn't reach his single visible eye. Ino smiled back weakly in return. He stood up from his desk and walked over to her. She stood stock still as he walked around her, appraising her with a critical eye._

_"You're quite a pretty girl," he said. _

_Ino cringed. "Thank you."_

_He stopped in front of her. She thought that he would ask to see her teeth like one would when looking to purchase a horse. "I would imagine that would increase the probability of success on your mission."_

_Ino shivered. She had heard about these sorts of missions, but she thought they were a myth. Naturally she could have guessed that a shinobi like Danzo would still have an interest in commissioning them. _

_"I was surprised to receive you summons," said Ino in reply. "May I ask what this is about?"_

_"How old are you?"_

_"Seventeen."_

_"Are you a virgin?"_

_Ino blinked. "I fail to see how that could be relevant."_

_"Just answer the question," said the quiet but firm voice of SPIDER from behind her. It was a woman's voice as she suspected._

_"Yes," said Ino tightly._

_"I find that surprising for a pretty girl like you," said DRAGON. There was a cruel sneer in his voice. _

_"And you've been a chunin for two years now," continued Danzo._

_"Yes."_

_He continued to circle her, saying, "You studied your clan techniques with your father and medical ninjutsu with Kato Shizune. You have jonin level interrogation and infiltration techniques, high chunin level medical ninjutsu, high chunin level poison techniques..."_

_"That's right."_

_"... and jonin level kunoichi talents."_

_Ino took a deep breath. "I can hear what you're implying. Just spit it out."_

_Danzo paused in front of her, invading her personal space. There was a dangerous glint in his single uncovered eye. "We haven't seen the need to implement this program for many years; however, circumstances have changed that require the reinstitution of this program. One of Konoha's greatest clans is on the brink of extinction. Kekkei genkai are one of Konoha's greatest strengths. _

_"The genetics of the passing on of bloodlines is very complex. That's why many clans intermarry, to ensure that their kekkei genkai is passed on and not diluted. The Hyuga clan is one such example. _

_"When a shinobi with a kekkei genkai marries a kunoichi or civilian outside of his clan, often the resulting children have weakened versions of the bloodline or do not inherit at all. However, in our history there are some examples of ninja from two different clans marrying and their children possessing even stronger kekkei genkai than their parents."_

_Ino was stubbornly silent._

_"However, there are very few examples of this. It is more often the exception than the rule. Usually when ninjas with two different bloodlines have children, their children have weaker versions of one of their parents' bloodlines or neither bloodline."_

_Danzo took a step forward and tucked her long bang behind her ear. He grabbed her chin roughly in his wrinkled hands and angled her face towards him so that she was forced to look into his single eye. "There is one such example of clan intermarriage that is relevant to your mission. Uchiha Kagami was a shinobi alive during the time of the Second Great Shinobi war. He and I completed several missions together. He was a young man, a chunin, during the war and was promoted to jonin soon after. He was nearly ten years my junior, but we received the promotion only a year apart._

_"During the rebuilding under the Nidaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kagami fell in love and married a kunoichi from the Yamanaka clan - a woman very much like you. They had one child together, Uchiha Shisui. He was one of the most power members of the Uchiha clan. Her Yamanaka bloodline mixed with the Sharingan to grant Shisui the most powerful genjutsu the shinobi world has ever seen."_

_"I've heard the story," said Ino._

_Danzo continued, ignoring her interruption. "Your Yamanaka bloodline is purer and stronger than that of Shisui's mother. And the father has an Uchiha bloodline purer and stronger than that of Uchiha Kagami. I'm sure that your child will be an even stronger ninja than Shisui. Your child will be an asset for Root."_

_"You want me to sleep with Uchiha Sasuke," said Ino simply._

_"No, I want you to sleep with Uchiha Itachi and bear his child."_

_"That's impossible!" Ino cried out, finally losing her composure. "And even if it wasn't, I won't do it. There's nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise. You can threaten me and those I love all you like. I won't do it. What I will do is report you straight to Tsunade."_

_DRAGON chuckled from behind her. The ROOT shinobi took a step forward and grabbed both of her arms tightly in his grasp to prevent her from weaving handsigns or striking blows. He pulled her in close to his body, and wrapped one of his arms across her chest. His arm pressed into her breasts, further preventing her from moving. _

_She tried to struggle in his grasp and he laughed in her ear. He ground his hips against her ass and she could feel him starting to get hard. Her struggles intensified. "Get off me!"_

_"Feisty, this one," DRAGON mused. "Can I have her before the Uchiha, Danzo?"_

_DANZO frowned at the ROOT ninja. "Her womb will be growing a new Uchiha very soon. I don't want to run the risk of compromising that."_

_"I'm not going to do it! Let me go!" Ino's struggles and cries were becoming hysterical._

_SPIDER walked over and rolled her eyes at DRAGON before slapping Ino across the face. "Calm down. You should be honored that Danzo-sama chose to include you in his plans. You should be proud that your child will become central to Danzo's new village. The child might eventually grow to be a ROOT commander like POSSUM, DRAGON, or myself."_

_Ino spat in her face. "Then why don't you do it?"_

_Danzo took a step forward. "SPIDER has other uses." Danzo's grip was hard on Ino's chin as he titled her head to look into his face. "I had anticipated a struggle. I would have been disappointed if you hadn't. Luckily, I was prepared for such a contingency. It's an unfortunate waste to use this on you, but the benefits will outweigh any inconvenience."_

_Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm a kunoichi from the Yamanaka clan. None of your second rate mind control will work on me."_

_SPIDER, DRAGON, and POSSUM chuckled._

_Danzo smirked at her, as he unwound the bandages hiding the other half of his face from view. She watched as a Sharingan was revealed to her. "It's fitting then that I'll use Shisui's eye to commission this mission. To think you'll soon be bringing to life a second such pair of eyes in your womb."_

_Ino tried to close her eyes against him, but she was powerless. Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan bored into her as Danzo compelled her to complete the mission._

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

Sakura's arm was tight around his back. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he leaned on her, glad of her support as he returned home. He wanted to think of something clever to say, but he was too tired. He told her that he could get to his apartment by himself, but Sakura had insisted on escorting him. She either thought he was too stupid or too foolish not to pull another stunt like the one he'd done that evening.

"_No funny comment, Kura_—" He'd just said it unconsciously. He'd spent so much time lately bantering back and forth with Kurama. How long would it take before he'd get used to the silence within his own mind?

"Naruto, is everything alright?" she wondered.

He smiled down at her, gripping her shoulder. "Everything's fine. I'm just a little surprised that the voices in my head have stopped talking to me."

"Voices in your head?" asked Sakura raising an eyebrow.

"Kurama was pretty chatty," he said with a laugh. "He liked giving me a hard time when I'd do something stu—"

Sakura glared at him. "Something stupid, eh?"

Naruto grimaced. "Er, yeah."

"I guess you'll just have to start talking to yourself instead," teased Sakura.

They finally reached his apartment and she used his key to open the door. Naruto's apartment complex had been badly damaged during Pein's attack. The entire west wall had been torn down by the flailing limbs of one of the massive summons that had wreaked such havoc on the village. After salvaging what he could from his apartment – the ramen survived Pein's assault surprisingly well – Naruto moved into a new place. It was closer to the center of Konoha had afforded a beautiful view of the Hokage Monument out the tiny window in his kitchen.

He probably didn't need to lean on her like he was, but he was enjoying the closeness far too much. He was glad that he had cleaned up the place before he left for the Kage Summit.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Sakura. "Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

Shaking his head, he grinned. "I feel fine."

She stepped closer and grasped his hands in her smaller ones. "When you came to visit me before the Kage Summit, you said some strange things. Now that I think about it, it was as if you were saying goodbye."

He looked down at the ground. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen."

Sakura squeezed his hand. "Naruto, did you think you were going to die?"

Naruto shrugged. "I planned it out so that I wouldn't die. I figured that using Sage chakra would ensure that, but everyone else who'd had a bijuu ripped out of them had died, so I had considered it as a possibility."

Sakura shook her head. "But how could you be so selfish, Naruto? If you died after unsealing Kurama, what would that have accomplished? You were the leader of the movement for bijuu rights. Their cause would have floundered if you had died."

He put a hand to her cheek, caressing the skin with his thumb. "We'd still have you and Kakashi and Yamato to continue the cause."

She took a step towards him and whispered, "But we don't have that talent for having other people see things our way. That talent for making everyone fall in love with us that you have."

She stood up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, his lips moving with hers. He still didn't quite believe her pronouncement after he awoke from the unsealing. Did she really love him?

"I'm so glad you're not dead, idiot," she muttered between kisses.

He ran a hand gently through her hair, his lips gliding over her in a gentle kiss. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest as she stepped closer to him. Her body slid against his, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to draw in closer to him. Sakura captured his lower lip between her teeth, pulling back teasingly.

Her hot breath mingled with his as she muttered, "I've been thinking about this for a while, Naruto."

Naruto brushed his hand through her hair, murmuring, "Hm?"

Standing on her tip toes, she leaned in closer. Her eyes twinkled as she said, "I love you, Naruto, and I want to make love with you."

He didn't give her a chance to change her mind, before he gripped her waist tightly and pulled her towards him, closing his mouth over hers again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned closer. He teased her with his tongue, tracing the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth slightly to allow him entrance.

They backed into his bedroom. He fumbled with the doorknob and then pushed the door open with his back. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and he lifted her by her bottom.

Giving her ass a little squeeze, he laughed, "You have the most beautiful ass, Sakura."

She let out a little gasp as he fondled her rear. "Is that why you're always lagging behind me then?"

"Among other reasons," he said dropping her on his bed. He crawled towards her and didn't get far before she started tearing off his clothes.

Smoothing a hand over his bare chest, she said, "I love you, Naruto."

He tugged down her skirt and sat back and she pulled her shirt over her head. What a strange day he was having. To think he had spent the morning trekking through the mountains of Kumo, the afternoon arguing with the Kage, the evening unsealing the Kyuubi, and now was spending the night making love to Sakura.

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was SPIDER who visited her tonight. The lady was nice enough, but she still gave her the creeps. She poked and prodded her late into the night. Nonetheless, she did offer great prenatal care. _

_Ino had returned from her mission only that morning. She was surprised they already knew, though maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. SPIDER was the first to visit. She had been overjoyed that the potions that she had provided Ino to help the girl conceive had worked. _

_"This is marvelous, darling," said SPIDER caressing Ino's still flat belly. "To think my little pink potion worked so well." _

_"Yeah, yeah," muttered Ino. "You're fabulous."_

_The older woman chuckled before taking out a scroll decorated with beautiful calligraphy. SPIDER unscrewed the cap to a curious little green mixture and poured it on top of the scroll. Ino watched as the green fluid flowed over the words on the scroll turning them red like blood. Words that she couldn't read bloomed out from the center. "What's that for?" she asked. "I don't want you using that on me."_

_"I'm going to need a chakra sample from the baby, darling."_

_"The hell you are," Ino spat._

_"I'm just being polite," said SPIDER raising her cold eyes at Ino. "We both know that I going to get it."_

_Ino glared at the woman but did as she was bid. It wouldn't do to resist. She didn't have the power to. _

_"Now lay back and think of Konoha, darling. Isn't that what you did when you were with him? Or did you imagine that he was someone else? Maybe you pretended that he was your friend Nara Shikamaru. There is a certain resemblance," said the SPIDER as lay the weird scroll on top of Ino's belly and activated it. _

_Ino flinched at the uncomfortable sensation. It was like a thousand little needles were prodding her abdomen. "You're going to hurt the baby," she yelled. "Please, don't hurt it. It hasn't done anything to you."_

_SPIDER laughed and released the jutsu. "I've gotten what I want anyway." She rose to her feet and rolled back up the scroll. "I'm surprised that you've gotten so attached to the little parasite." _


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

"We learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable change, and that of persevering in search of resources." - Benjamin Franklin

* * *

**Yamato**

Why hadn't Sasuke been there? Yamato probably should have gone to retrieve the last Uchiha before rushing off to Naruto. Even though Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto teased and fought all the time, they were great friends. They were sort of like he and Kakashi, enjoying giving one another a hard time.

It was always good to have a friend who was willing to challenge you and point out the error in your ways. Kakashi tended to take that to an infuriating level, but Yamato felt that he was a good friend for the Hokage – occasionally putting the Hatake genius in his place.

He went over the Sasuke's house where an annoyed Uzumaki Karin opened the front door. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" she snapped. "Go bother someone else."

"Is Sasuke there?"

Karin rolled her eyes. "You sent him off on an ANBU mission just the other day. Did you already forget?"

Yamato blinked at her in surprise. "I did?"

Karin rolled her eyes again and slammed the door in his face.

Yamato wandered over to Yamanaka Chika's apartment next. The woman was Naruto's ANBU captain and was someone he could trust. She might know what was going on.

Slipping in through her bedroom window, he watched her sleeping form for a moment before grabbing her shoulder and shaking her awake. "Yamato?" she muttered, still half sleep. "Come back to bed."

He chuckled amusedly, before shaking her shoulder again. She whined, "I'm tired. We can do it again in the morning."

"Chika," he whispered, continuing to shake her. "Wake up."

Her bright green blinked open. "Yamato?"

Yamato sat down on the bed next to her. "Quit talking in your sleep and listen to me."

She blinked and said, "Talking in my sleep?"

He smirked and whispered in her ear, "Where you dreaming about me, Chika?"

He was so smooth.

She sat up and he watched transfixed as one of the thin spaghetti straps of her silk nightgown slipped off her shoulder. Chika wrinkled her nose at him. "Why are you disturbing my beauty sleep? You're back early. Couldn't stay away?"

Yamato slid his hand down her arm in a light caress. He kissed a line down her jaw and whispered before claiming her lips, "Naruto cut the Kage Summit a little short, luckily for us."

Chika turned her face to the side, so his kiss landed on her cheek instead of her mouth. "Quit trying to seduce me and just tell me what's going on," Chika ordered. "What's Naruto done? He hasn't caused an international incident has he? Damnation! I should have gone to the Summit too. You and Kakashi can't keep him in check at all. He walks all over you."

Yamato sat back disappointed. He hesitated for a moment, not sure how to spin Naruto's unsealing so that Chika wouldn't freak out. "He announced that he was going to unseal the Kyuubi and then—"

"He what?!" Chika yelled, jumping out of bed and pushing Yamato out of the way as she ran to her closet to put on some clothes. "We have to stop him! This is just the sort of stunt that you could expect from him."

She was halfway into her pants when Yamato said, "It's too late. He's already done it."

Chika tripped and fell backwards, legs tangled up in her pants. Yamato ran over to catch her in his arms before she fell. "What do you mean he's already done it? Where is he? Kami, is he-"

"He's fine," said Yamato pulling her to her feet so her front was pressed tightly to his. Her warm body always fit against his so well. In the two or three times they'd been lovers, he'd memorized every wonderful curve of her body. He knew that he shouldn't have given into the passion he felt for her, but he was human first and her boss second. "He survived. I don't know how he did it, but he's fine."

Chika wrapped her arms around him, her body trembling in relief. "Thank, Kami!"

He ran his hands up and down her back comfortingly. "I wanted to ask you something else."

She glanced up at him, her eyes shining. "Yes?"

"Do you know anything about the mission that Sasuke and Hinata's team has gone on?"

Her eyes betrayed a flash a disappointment before she wondered, "What do you mean? What mission?"

"Sasuke's ANBU team is out on a mission that neither Kakashi nor I authorized."

Chika's eyebrows drew up in surprise. "But how is that possible?"

* * *

**Interlude**

_Rising from the bed, the dark haired man looked back at the blonde haired beauty tangled in his bed sheets. With her hair spread across the pillows and the sheets wrapped around her waist, he thought her a vision. The sunlight from the window was strewn across her bare breasts._

_Pulling on his pants and shrugging on his mesh undershirt and black long sleeve shirt, he walked over to sit beside her the bed. He ran a hand through her blonde hair, smoothing it back from her face so he could see her one last time. _

_She was too young and too beautiful to be taking on some of his cares like this. It was selfish to ask this of her, but she had come to him seeking this. He placed a hand of her flat belly where already their child was growing. He could sense it in the flicker of chakra beneath his hand.  
_

_"Itachi?" whispered her voice husky with sleep. "Is something wrong?"_

_"No," he whispered back. "Go back to sleep."_

_She sighed and stretched, sitting up in the bed. The white sheets fell to pool in her lap. Her too blue eyes were still foggy with sleep and her blonde hair was a messy halo around her face. She reached a delicate hand towards him and he let her pull him in for a kiss. It was tender and sweet, not like the fire and passion of the previous nights. _

_Pulling back, she looked up at him. "I'm never going to see you again, am I?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

_Her smile was bittersweet. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. You're a good man; you shouldn't have to die like this. Your brother will never forgive himself when he finds out the truth."_

_He gathered her beautiful body into his arms. She rested her blonde head against his shoulder. He said, "It's the only logical progression. I've taken things too far and it's the only way that I can right it."_

_"But you don't need to—" the girl began._

_He ran a hand down her arm, saying, "I'm dying. It's only a matter of time before I succumb. In this way my death won't be in vain, I'll be able to rid my brother of Orochimaru's influence." She looked down at her hands unhappily. He lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. He smiled softly at her. "You're the only thing in my life that I've done right."_

_"Oh, you did me well," she winked at him._

_Laying a hand on her belly, he said, "I'm sorry that I won't be around to help raise our baby, but I know that it'll be happy and healthy with you as its mother."_

_"I don't know the first thing about raising an Uchiha baby," the girl chuckled._

_He chuckled, "I'm sure it's not much different than raising other babies. You'll do fine."_

_She sighed and shifted out of his grasp. He felt empty without her in his arms. She lay back against the bed, smiling up at him. "Surely you don't need to race off to pound Sasuke right this minute?"_

_He gazed down at her, muttering, "I find myself losing my nerve."_

_"Meh," said the girl. "I'm just sexy as hell and you can't help yourself."_

_He laughed. "You're a rare woman, Yamanaka Ino."_

_He tossed his long sleeve shirt over his head before tugging off his mesh undershirt. He kissed his way up her body, lingering on the flat plane of her belly where his children were already growing, before he got to her lips. She wrapped her arms around him with a happy sigh._

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

He slipped on a shirt and shorts and kissed Anko on the forehead before wandering into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, he put his head in his hands. Something didn't feel right. The entire ordeal with Naruto unsealing the Kyuubi had made it impossible for him to sleep.

The feel of Anko's fingers running through his hair and massaging the back of his head brought him back to himself. He glanced up at her, hugging her closely to himself. She had slipped on an old robe; her slippered feet hadn't betrayed her presence. His head rested against her breasts and he took a deep breath.

"I almost lost him today. I almost lost him as I lost Minato-sensei."

Anko brushed the hair out of his eyes and titled his head to look at her. "He's going to be fine. Everything's alright."

Sighing, he wondering, "But something still doesn't feel right. It's like I'm missing some important detail."

Anko slid out of his grasp and went to boil some water. She sat down in the chair across from him. "What are you thinking about?"

"I don't know. I usually have Shikamaru put these things together for me," said Kakashi.

Anko grinned widely. "It sounds like your strategist has had something else on his mind for the last couple weeks."

Kakashi grinned back at her. "A pretty blonde something else that I caught gasping and moaning in his lap tonight."

Anko giggled. "I caught them in the stock room in T&I a couple weeks back."

Kakashi smirked. "I remember that we went through a similar honeymoon period when we got together."

Anko winked at him. "You make it sound like we're an old and boring couple. We still do plenty of crazy things, thank you very much."

Kakashi laughed. "Can't deny that. But I will admit that my chief strategist has been a bit preoccupied with his wife lately. I guess that's what I get for giving the job to some randy seventeen year old."

The kettle whistled and Anko stood up to pour two cups of tea. She set the two cups in front of them and sat back, waiting for the tea to finish steeping. "I guess you might have to actually think for yourself for a change. You can't get by doing absolutely no Hokage work forever, you know."

The copy ninja groaned. "When is Naruto going to take over?"

Anko crossed her legs and sat back in the chair. "So what are the pieces that don't add up?"

Kakashi sighed and picked up his cup, looking into it. It had steeped long enough. "First of all there's the whole thing with the bijuu. The other kage say they're not involved."

Anko picked up her cup and blew on it. "Then who else could be?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm not sure. Then there's Sasuke's ANBU team. I hadn't realized until Naruto mentioned it, but they're gone on a mission apparently. Yamato followed up about it and they're definitely out of the village on a mission."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "You're a little young to be going senile. Don't you or Yamato have to authorize all ANBU missions?"

"We're supposed to," muttered Kakashi. He glanced towards the window. There was a strange tapping noise that was distracting as hell.

Anko frowned. "You don't think he's trying to run away again?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I think it's worse. ROOT might be involved." Standing up from his seat, he moved to the window. "Can you hear that?"

Anko stood up and put a hand against the glass. "Something's tapping. Can you see anything?"

"It looks like a….it's one of Sasuke's hawks!"

Anko opened the window and the bird flew in. He held out his talon where Sasuke had slipped a note.

_Dog,_

_ I'm taking a vacation with Dove. We're hoping to get some bird-watching in. Apparently the Eagles around here are something to be seen. We'll probably be back in a couple days; I hope this won't land us in Hot Water with the Daimyo._

_Hawk_

Kakashi sighed in annoyance. "Of course Sasuke doesn't trust anyone enough to not send coded letters, the little pest. Well he's suspicious of Shinju and he's looking after Hinata. That's good. They're going to the Land of Hot Water."

Anko plucked the note out of Kakashi's hands and skimmed it. "What does he mean by the Daimyo?"

Kakashi rubbed his eyes. "That means they're going to the Yakuza mansion rather than Yugakure."

"Is that bad?" wondered Anko.

"I don't know."

"We have a group investigating Yugakure don't we?"

"They're late reporting back and they haven't activated their—" Kakashi paused at the strange whirling sound coming from the little paper seal he kept hidden in his bookcase. He and Yamato had similar ones scattered around their apartments and offices. Running into the living room, he tore the books off the shelves and took out the seal. "Someone's requesting a reverse summoning."

Kakashi applied chakra to the seal and Anko jumped back as a man appeared in front of her.

Shiranui Genma collapsed at her feet, groaning a clutching a wound on his leg bleeding heavily. Kakashi fell to his knees in front of Genma and moved the man's tired hands to apply pressure to the wound. Anko ran for the medi-kit.

Anko came back with several yards of gauze. She knelt next to Kakashi to wrap Genma's wounded leg, trying to lessen the bleeding. "We need to get him to the hospital," she told her lover.

Genma grabbed Kakashi's wrist and said, "It's worse than we thought, Kakashi."

"Aoba and Raido?" wondered the Hokage.

Genma let out a groan as Anko tied off the bandage. "They're both dead."

Anko sat back on her knees and looked at their friend in horror. "What happened?"

Genma looked up at Kakashi. "We found the ROOT army. They're in Yugakure, like Shikamaru predicted. But it gets worse. They're making – they're making jinchuriki, Kakashi."

"They're what?" gasped Anko. "How is that possible?"

Genma's eyes were watery and his face was streaked with dirt and blood. "That's what I went to find out. It's the only reason I survived. Aoba was killed first. He infiltrated the village but we never heard what information he discovered. We only received word that Yugakure's shinobi force was the remnants of Danzo's army.

"Raido and I went in next to learn more. We saw them, Kakashi. We saw them summon the one and the two tails and seal them into two shinobi."

"Oh Kami," said Anko.

"But how could they do that?" wondered Kakashi. "Did they have summoning contracts?"

Genma shook his head. "I went to go find out that, Raido went to follow the people who sealed the bijuu. I found a storage room with nine vials of blood. Three of them were empty and two of them were being used. They were marked Uzumaki Naruto."

"Shit," said Kakashi. "I hadn't thought that they would use Naruto's blood to summon the bijuu. He's signed all the bijuu's summoning contracts after all. Shit!"

"Come on, Kakashi," said Anko. "Let's get him to the hospital. Hurry!"


	38. Chapter 38

**Happy Fourth of July everyone! **

**I've made a couple little edits to previous chapters to fix some spelling mistakes and some inconsistencies. Originally Ino was close to five months pregnant, but I think things will make more sense if she's more like four months along. So I took out the comment in one of the previous chapters that she had spent a month working as a medic nin after the war. **

**In other news, I'm trying to think of names for a couple more ROOT agents. Anyone have any good ideas about creepy/evil animals that I haven't used yet?**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

"In order to become a grandmaster class player whose understanding of chess is superior to the thousands of ordinary players, you have to develop within yourself a large number of qualities, the qualities of an artistic creator, a calculating practitioner, a cold calm competitor." - Alexander Kotov

* * *

**Interlude**

_She followed the woman in the spider mask into the small room beside Danzo's office. The other woman slid back the hood of her cloak and untied her mask, revealing the face of a brown eyed kunoichi. Ino recognized the curly blonde hair as belonging to one of the doctors in the hospital._

_"You're…" began Ino._

_"Fuiji Akio," smiled SPIDER. "Nice to meet you."_

_"But you're a doctor at the hospital. Are you telling me that you're also a ROOT spy?"_

_Akio smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "I specialize in birth and pregnancies, particularly in the passing on of kekkei genkai. I'm one of the foremost experts in their field. Danzo commissioned me to lead OPERATION KUNOICHI because of my particular skill set."_

_Ino felt an icy chill of foreboding. "You're not stopping with the Sharingan are you?"_

_There was a shuffling and a tapping of a cane behind them. "OPERATION KUNOICHI is to ensure that the great kekkei genkai of Konoha will not become extinct in the next generation," said Shimura Danzo as he entered the room. "We may use you to further this goal after you have given birth to Uchiha Itachi's child."_

_Ino glared at him. "The hell I will. What's to stop me from turning you all in or slitting my own throat after I leave here?"_

_Danzo chuckled. "Don't forget the commands of the genjutsu. Say them for me, girl."_

_Ino bit her lip, trying to keep herself from obeying him, but the genjutsu induced compulsion was too strong. "Obey Danzo," she spat, "and the leaders of ROOT. Conceive a child with Uchiha Itachi and ensure that no Konoha ninja besides the leaders of ROOT is aware of its existence. Turn the infant over to the leaders of ROOT."_

_"Very good," said Danzo with approval. "I have a feeling that you'll be very useful to us."_

_Ino started as the woman behind her grabbed her hips with gloved hands. "She's got wide hips. That should be useful for carrying the child."_

_Danzo looked at Ino with an amused smile. Ino didn't like it one bit. "Yes. Her body is perfect for this type of mission."_

_Crossing her arms over her chest defensively, Ino snapped, "Even so, how on earth and I supposed to find him? He's a rogue ninja who's been wandering around for nearly ten years. I won't have a chance of tracking him for if no one else has been able to."_

_Danzo pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to her. "I've prepared this to assist you. Itachi was once a member of ROOT. He was one of my best and brightest shinobi. He was more gifted and talented than any ninja I've ever seen. His obedience to Konoha and ROOT was so complete that when I commissioned him to slaughter his entire clan, he didn't hesitate. He didn't let him emotions make him weak."_

_"You?" gasped Ino. "You commissioned the Uchiha massacre? But…how? Why?"_

_Danzo shrugged, glancing at SPIDER who watched the conversation intently. "The Uchiha clan was planning a coup d'état that would have destroyed Konoha. They needed to be destroyed to ensure the village's survival. Itachi realized that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."_

_"But-but," Ino stuttered. "His own family? You made him kill his own family?"_

_Danzo shrugged. "Uchiha Itachi was the best shinobi ROOT ever produced. He was completely emotionless. Never letting things like love and loyalty get in the way of what was necessary. I hope his child will take after him."_

_SPIDER laughed. "Good luck getting that stick in the mud to get you pregnant."_

_Danzo nodded. "It will be a challenge to be sure. I would recommend using the Mind Transfer Jutsu to accomplish your mission." He nodded to the scroll in her hands. "All members of ROOT have a small tracking device embedded into the ANBU tattoo on their shoulders so that I am able to monitor their progress on missions. This scroll contains a map which will allow you to track Uchiha Itachi's location. It will only be activated by your chakra."_

_Ino gaped at the ROOT leader. "You've had this power all along? Surely Konoha would have found this intelligence useful. After all, Uchiha Sasuke's mission in life is to kill his brother. You've…"_

_Danzo itched at the transplanted Sharingan's on his arm. "Uchiha Sasuke's entire existence is a hopeless waste. I should have gone against Itachi's wishes and just killed the boy."_

_Ino blinked. She was going to have to seduce this man. Learning more about his history would be extremely beneficial. "Itachi left him alive?"_

_Danzo nodded. "He was supposed to exterminate his clan, but he couldn't kill his younger brother. He begged for clemency for Sasuke and I was able to convince him to become useful to the village again. He's been working for Konoha as a double agent in the Akatsuki. He's fed us a great deal of useful information and in return, we haven't killed Sasuke."_

_Ino unraveled the scroll, unable to look at Danzo anymore. All her life, she had thought that Uchiha Itachi was an evil monster. It was hard to comprehend that she had been so wrong about him, that he had been so wronged by Konoha. Who was Uchiha Itachi?_

_SPIDER spoke up for the first time. "I've prepared something for you as well, Ino-chan."_

_Ino glanced up at the doctor. The other woman's brown eyes were filled with a manic glee. "It's a little serum of my making that you will find beneficial. We've completed considerable testing on the serum and have found it to be effective. It will assist you in your mission to be sure."_

_Ino didn't make any move to accept the small bundle of test tubes in the other woman's hands. She didn't like the appearance of the pink liquid splashing around in it. "What's that?"_

_"This potion stimulates your hypothalamus to produce extra luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Basically, it makes you ovulate. In our testing, we will usually cycle it through your system with a placebo, but for your purposes, I haven't included that. You will need to ovulate to ensure that you become pregnant by the Uchiha. When getting pregnant, you should have sex with him a couple times before taking the potion, which will ensure that he's giving you a healthy dose of sperm."_

_"S-several times?" wondered Ino._

_"Yes," said SPIDER. "Take the potion on the third day or so after you've become lovers and then you should be pregnant with an Uchiha by the end of the week."_

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

She lay in bed awake. Shikamaru had to cut their love making short for some late important meeting with the Hokage. It must have been important. Kakashi would rather pry out his Sharingan eye with a spoon than schedule extraneous meetings in the middle of the night. If he didn't, Anko surely would - that woman was scary. Sure, Kakashi would schedule things during the day to annoy his friends - he was especially guilty of doing this to Captain Yamato - but Kakashi never scheduled meetings during his time off. It must have been serious.

So she was lying in bed aroused and yet unsatisfied. Shikamaru had finished - the jerk – but he had to leave before getting her off. So she had only her fingers and the memory of him to help her.

She closed her eyes and slid her hands down her stomach. Thank Kami that Shikamaru hadn't noticed tonight. She'd made that little birth control seal on her hip glow red tonight with a genjutsu to confuse him. Shikamaru wasn't as good at sensing chakra as she was, so he didn't notice the three foreign chakra signatures growing in her womb. She still hadn't figured out how Itachi had known that she was carrying his three children when she was only a couple days pregnant. She hadn't even sensed it herself. Maybe he was a sensor type like her; she'd have to ask Sasuke someday.

Thinking about her two lovers as her finger tangled in the thatch of hair above her sex, she slid her finger in with a little moan. One hand caressed her breast and she imagined Shikamaru's hand was the one kneading it. Her finger stroked the little bud, bringing her closer to release. She imagined that it was his long fingers doing it. He had that trick where he released a little burst of chakra right…

"Oh, Kami!" she moaned as she came.

There were voices downstairs in the flower shop, the soft voices of two women. She recognized the sickly sweet voice of SPIDER, but she didn't recognize the other one. She sat up in bed, shocked and embarrassed. What on earth was going on? Why was she here, that bitch?

"...he's getting sent away again. We were supposed to meet tonight," whispered the unfamiliar woman's voice.

"Stop making your excuses," hissed SPIDER. "We gave you an easy mission; you should have completed it by now."

Ino tipped toed down the hall, trying to hear the conversation. What was this mission the other woman was on? Who was this other Root operative?

"I've been trying, but we keep having to cancel the dates because Kakashi's scheduling meetings and sending him away on things. Do you think they've caught on?"

"I doubt it's that, VIXEN," SPIDER scoffed. "Kakashi's not that smart. He's just a jackass."

"Yeah," said VIXEN. "I'm not sure where Yamato's gone, but we've rescheduled for next Tuesday."

Ino paused on the stairs, carefully avoiding the stair that creaked when stepped on. They were talking about Yamato. Were they trying to assassinate him or steal his kekkei genkai as they'd forced Ino to do with Uchiha Itachi?

"Yamanaka Chika still interfering with your mission?" wondered SPIDER.

"Yeah," said VIXEN. "If Kakashi's not scheduling bogus meetings, Chika's hanging all over him and making it difficult for me to approach him."

"I'm glad that you informed me," said SPIDER. "She's one of my patients. She thinks she's taking my special birth control potion. If you're unsuccessful, we'll grab her as our contingency plan."

"She's a complete slut," snapped VIXEN. "How do you even know that it would even be Yamato's?"

"We've been trailing her and she was in for an appointment at the hospital last week to refill her prescription. She's two weeks pregnant with a Senju. OPERATION RUBY THROAT was a success."

Ino put a hand to her pregnant belly. Not her clanswoman Chika too! It simply wasn't fair what SPIDER was trying to do. At least she had saved Sakura from an unplanned pregnancy. The pink haired medic was actually taking birth control rather than that horrible fertility potion.

"Did you find out what happened with the Uzumaki boy? What all that commotion was about tonight?" asked SPIDER.

"No," said VIXEN. "Do you know if OPERATION SWEET PEA has been successful?"

SPIDER said, "It's only a matter of time."

"I saw her going into Naruto's apartment tonight," said VIXEN.

"Good," said SPIDER. "She might complete OPERATION SWEET PEA for us tonight. Wouldn't that be handy? DRAGON and RAT have got the Hyuga girl and the last Uchiha under control. He's taking them to POSSUM. So OPERATION KUNOICHI is almost complete. We've almost gotten all the kekkei genkai of Konoha like Danzo wished. We will soon be able to wipe this place off the map and start over."

"Well—" said VIXEN uneasily.

"Assuming that you will make up for your incompetence and get the Mokuton for us. Really, VIXEN, you're the only ROOT operative involved in this mission. How is it that you are the only one who hasn't been able to complete your part?"

"I've been trying," whined VIXEN. "But it's harder than it seems."

SPIDER scoffed. "Oh, spare your crocodile tears for Yamato. You're an embarrassment to ROOT. The Yamanaka girl's mark was Uchiha Itachi, maybe the strongest shinobi in the world while he lived. Can you imagine that? I doubt anyone else could have succeeded as she did. And she's got three Uchiha babies in there. Three!"

"Well I'm not Yamanaka Ino," spat VIXEN.

"Unfortunately. She might not be a ROOT operative, but she's damned effective at spreading her legs for powerful shinobi," said SPIDER. "Maybe we'll put her back in the field and let Yamato have a go at her after she's birthed the Uchiha whelps. I know DRAGON called dibs, but the Mokuton's more important for our new village. You've had four months to work on Yamato; she hunted down Uchiha Itachi and got a child by him in two weeks."

"I still don't think those children are Uchiha Itachi's," said VIXEN.

"I've checked. They are, trust me. Did you know that Danzo planned to have her in charge of stealing all the bloodlines for us? Maybe we should return to his plan."

"Once I get Yamato in my bed, I'll be sure to get pregnant," VIXEN snarled.

"You had better not fail again, VIXEN, or there will be consequences."

"Yes, SPIDER-sama," muttered the other woman.

SPIDER sighed. "We're pulling out tonight. DRAGON was overzealous in completing his mission, so I've had to push up the timetable. We're meeting outside the village in the usual spot at 0100 hours. Don't be late."

"Yes, SPIDER-sama," the other woman whispered.

The little bell on the corner of the front door chimed as the other woman slipped out of the shop. Ino rounded the corner and stared down the curly blonde haired woman. "What are you doing here? You must be confident to be holding meetings in my shop."

"I know that you can't reveal anything to anyone about us, Ino-chan. We're probably safer here than anywhere else. No one is watching your flower shop. You're above reproach. Does that sting? Knowing you're betraying your friends like this?

"Spit your poison at someone else, SPIDER," snarled the blonde haired girl.

The SPIDER tapped a manicured finger to her lips. "I wonder what will your lover think when he finds out what you've done? Will he still want you when he finds out your carrying another man's children?"

"You leave Shikamaru out of this."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Your lover is too smart for his own good. It's fortunate that we have you reporting his movements to us. Otherwise we might have trouble covering our tracks."

"I had no choice," Ino muttered.

"Imagine what he'll say when this all comes to light," she laughed. "He'll never speak to you again."

Ino leaned against the counter and changed the subject. "Your operative VIXEN. Is she trying to steal Yamato's kekkei genkai?"

Ino didn't tell Akio what she knew. She had realized that SPIDER was trying to ensure that Sakura got pregnant with Naruto's child, but Ino had thwarted that well enough. They thought that Sakura and Naruto were sleeping together tonight. That would keep them safe at least if SPIDER thought they'd succeeded in their plan.

"She's part of OPERATION KUNOICHI too," nodded the SPIDER.

"How do you know it's going to work?" wondered Ino. "Yamato was injected with Senju Hashirama's DNA. There's no guarantee that his child will manifest the kekkei genkai. He wasn't born a Senju."

SPIDER grinned. "That's where you're wrong. I know something about your friend Yamato that few do. Yamato himself isn't even aware of his parentage. Isn't that sad?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ino.

SPIDER beckoned Ino with a manicured finger. "Let me tell you a story, Ino-chan, a story that Danzo-sama told me. It's quite scandalous, but quite true.

"Many years ago, there was a beautiful kunoichi from the Yamanaka clan. She was clever and talented and much sought after by the shinobi of the village. Her younger sister was engaged to be married to a member of one of Konoha's most prominent clans, Uchiha Kagami. Danzo-sama was a few years her senior, so he became the captain of her squad during their tenure as the ANBU for the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama."

"Why is it always Yamanaka women?" wondered Ino.

"It was those two sisters that gave Danzo the idea for your mission, Ino-chan. You should be thankful. Working so closely with the Hokage, the Yamanaka woman and Tobirama fell in love and eventually became lovers. It would have been scandalous if anyone had known because he had a grand-niece her age; she was nearly twenty-five years his junior. Tobirama died in the Second Shinobi World War before he knew that she was with child. She was young and scared, so she went to her ANBU captain and asked him what she should do."

"That bastard Danzo! He killed her and took the baby," said Ino.

SPIDER sent Ino a scathing glance. "Danzo provided for her and helped to keep the baby a secret from her family. She would have been ruined otherwise and her younger sister's engagement would have been called off." SPIDER looked at Ino consideringly. "They weren't as forgiving about unwed mothers in those days."

Ino rolled her eyes at SPIDER.

"Sadly the girl died soon after her son was born."

Ino folded her hands over her belly which was already growing larger with Uchiha Itachi's babies. "Did Danzo force her to sleep with Tobirama? How could the Hokage let himself sleep with a woman so much younger than him?"

SPIDER shrugged. "I don't know the particulars. I'm sure that Danzo encouraged the infatuation."

"Did Danzo give Yamato to Orochimaru to use as an experiment? Was that his work too?"

"Clever girl," said SPIDER. "Little Yamato was adopted by Danzo and taken in by ROOT for a time. Even as a child, he had the ability to make plants grow out of nothing but water and soil. Danzo wanted to make little Yamato's Mokuton stronger. It was the first Mokuton we'd seen manifest since Senju Hashirama, after all. He gave the boy to Orochimaru to work on. Unfortunately, Orochimaru was caught by Sarutobi Hiruzen around that time and had to run away before Danzo could retrieve the boy. Yamato had already fallen into Sarutobi and Namikaze Minato's hands by then. Hiruzen may have been fool, but he wasn't going to let go of the only Mokuton user Konoha had seen since its founder. No one ever learned of his true parentage. Isn't that sad?"

"That man, Shimura Danzo, was entirely unscrupulous."

"That man was a genius," countered SPIDER.

Ino rolled her eyes.

"I want you to tell me everything that happened within the last couple days with Uzumaki Naruto. I've been hearing strange rumors. What sort of meeting did your lover have to run off to in the middle of the night?" SPIDER sneered at her. "It wasn't very kind of him to leave you unsatisfied like that."

"Shut up," said Ino.

"Tell me," commanded SPIDER again. "What happened?"

Ino bit her lip to keep silent, but the Kotoamatsukami was too powerful for her to overcome. "He's unsealed the Kyuubi. Kakashi, Yamato, and Shikamaru are talking about the mission that Sasuke's on now. They didn't authorize it, so they're wondering how you're involved.

"Unsealed the Kyuubi," said SPIDER in amazement. "Answer me this: is the Uzumaki boy is dead?"

"No, he's fine."

SPIDER grinned. "I doubt that. Tell me, Ino. What powers has Naruto lost now that the Kyuubi is gone?"

Ino bit her lip again, blood dripping down her chin. "His chakra stores are human again. He only has his Uzumaki vitality, not the chakra of the Kyuubi anymore. His whiskers are gone for what that's worth and his healing abilities are gone. That's all I know for sure."

"Very good," said SPIDER put down her bag on the counter. "Well it's time for your checkup, now. How are my babies doing?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "They're my babies, not yours."

SPIDER took a syringe out of the bag and beckoned Ino to lie across the counter. "Oh, they soon will be."

"What's that for?" wondered Ino.

"Just taking a sample of your amniotic fluid."

"The hell you are," spat Ino.

SPIDER rolled her eyes. "You always resist, girl, but you know it's not going to get you anywhere. Why do you bother?"

Ino shrugged. "I like the emotional victory if nothing else."

SPIDER snorted. "Just lay back and don't move."

"What are you doing?" Ino asked again.

SPIDER turned on the light overhead and slipped on her glasses, carefully sliding the needle into Ino's belly. "Checking to see if your child has the Sharingan."

"I thought the Sharingan had to manifest in battle."

"It does," said SPIDER, drawing out the fluid. "But it won't unless you have the kekkei genkai. I'm trying to determine that." Ino lay back on the table.

SPIDER took out a vial and scroll from her bag. Spreading the scroll on the table, she dropped the vial on it. The delicate kanji on the scroll glowed purple and new words were revealed. There was a big purple circle in the middle of the scroll. SPIDER dropped the sample of the amniotic fluid onto it. The purple scroll flashed bright red and then three pairs of red circles bled onto the center. The woman sat back with a wolfish smile. Her eyes betrayed shock and awe as three strange tomoe curled together in the center of each of the red circles.

Her brown eyes glinted once in the light of the lamp before she flicked it off. The scroll still glowed red in the center even as she rolled it up and stuff it into her bag. "Amazing," was all she said. "It's better than I could have ever imagined. POSSUM will be glad to hear how successful your mission was, Ino-chan."

The blonde florist glared. "I'm not going to let you have them. They're my children too."

SPIDER put a hand on Ino's shoulder. "We both know that I'm going to get what I want. We're pulling out tonight. Be ready to go in an hour. I'll have someone collect you. Don't mention this to anyone."

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was as if she had been sent away in the middle of the night. Danzo had arranged for her to be out of the village for as long as three months. He had forged a mission authorization from the Hokage, spilled some sake on it, and had DRAGON slide it into the bottom of a pile of documents in the Hokage's office. _

_Ino walked around in a daze for the rest of the day, closely watched by SPIDER and DRAGON. She had a strange compulsion to run up to one of their friends and yell, "I'm going to go have sex with Uchiha Itachi! What are you doing today?"_

_SPIDER was like an unpleasant shadow, making sure that Ino didn't do something reckless. When Ino started walking over to the Nara residence to see Shikamaru, SPIDER intercepted her. _

_"Ino-chan!" the venomous blonde haired woman cooed. "I haven't seen you in ages. Let's go out for dango!"_

_SPIDER's grip was tight on Ino's elbow as she steered her away from the Nara clan's part of town. The ROOT commander's voice was sickly sweet in Ino's ear. "I can see what you're doing, Ino-chan. You want to give your virginity away to your Nara teammate before you're sent on your mission."_

_"I…" stuttered Ino. She wasn't exactly sure what she had planned to do, but the thought had crossed her mind._

_SPIDER giggled, "We can't have that, Ino-chan. I don't want to risk you whelping a Nara baby instead of an Uchiha baby. I get to decide who enjoys your cunt. Not you."_

_Ino tore her arm out of SPIDER's grasp. "Let me go."_

_Ino tried to talk with her friends before heading off on her mission, but everyone brushed her off. An eight man squad comprised of Teams 7 and 8 were going off on some secret big mission together, so they didn't have time to talk. _

_Sakura was home, but didn't want to talk to anyone. Ino stood on her front step talking with Sakura's mom. _

_"She's upstairs, isn't she? I can see her light on," said Ino._

_"I'm sorry, Ino," Sakura's mother apologized, "but Sakura's trying to prepare herself for this mission. She doesn't want to see anyone."_

_Ino glanced down at her feet. "I understand. It must be an important mission. Teams 7 and 8 seem to be really gearing up for something special."_

_Sakura's mother nodded. "She's been staring at that photo of her genin squad all day."_

_"It must be something about Sasuke then," mused Ino. "I wonder what's going on."_

_"I only know as much as you do, Ino-chan. Sakura seems really upset about her mission."_

_Ino walked away from the house quirking her lips in a wry smile. "Well that would make two of us."_

_Her father had become busy at T&I because they had caught a ROOT operative and needed her father's expertise to assist in the questioning of the man. Choji had found his calling as a teacher at the academy and Shikamaru was still brooding at home about Asuma's death. _

_No one noticed that Ino was about to embark on the most dangerous and soul crushing mission of her life._

_She set out in the early hours of the day, before the sun had risen. Her bag was packed full of things she thought she would need for the mission. She had stared at her pack for hours last night. She had never been sent on a mission like this before. What was a kunoichi supposed to wear when convincing an S-Rank missing nin to get her pregnant with his child? Oh Kami, she didn't want to lose her virginity to a stranger. She wanted to..._

_Danzo, SPIDER, and DRAGON meet her in a secluded forest outside of the village. SPIDER handed her a bag packed with Kami knows what and pressed several vials of that little pink potion into her hands. _

_The older woman's dark eyes glittered with cruel amusement. "Happy hunting, Ino-chan. Give Itachi-sempai a good time now."_

_DRAGON pouted. "That lucky jerk."_

_Danzo handed her the map and said, "She's not yours to play with DRAGON. Remember that. The Uchiha is in Rock Country right now, he's been stationary for a couple days now. Be careful that you aren't identified by any ninjas from Iwa while you're on the mission. Your mission is of the utmost secrecy." _


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

"I repeat, that the first and main difficulty in making a positional exchange sacrifice is a psychological caution: after all, you have to give up a rook for a minor piece. The second difficulty is that the exchange is given up when this is not forced by circumstances. Therefore you must anticipate beforehand, in good time, how events will develop and take the necessary measures." - Tigran Petrosian

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

"Okay, Kakashi," snapped Shikamaru as he stormed into the Hokage's office. "You better have a good reason for calling us in at this hour. Otherwise, I'm going to kill you. This is the second time you'd done this to me today! Today!"

"Meh," said Kakashi, stretching his arms over his head. "This is important, Shikamaru. The whole Shinobi World is at stake. Your pretty wife is going to just have to wait."

Yamato was glaring at the Hokage furiously.

"After that stunt you pulled this evening with me and Ino, you had better be sorry," snapped Shikamaru.

"What, did you leave her unsatisfied?" wondered Kakashi. "When you have to leave your lover's bed early, you always leave behind a shadow clone to keep her company until you get back. It's shinobi rule number—"

"You and your stupid shinobi rules," Shikamaru growled. "I don't want to hear any of this. Just tell me what's going on Kakashi so I can get back to what you interrupted."

"Why isn't Naruto here then?" realized Yamato.

"He's had a bit of an ordeal with the Kyuubi being extracted today and all. I figured that I'd give him a break."

"And Sakura?" wondered Shikamaru.

"She's had a bit of an ordeal today with watching Naruto almost die before her eyes. I figured I would give her a break. She seemed to be best the look after Naruto."

"So Naruto's getting laid, but we're not," muttered Yamato. "Sometimes I really hate you, Kakashi."

"This is more important," said Kakashi.

There was suddenly a lot of yelling outside and then the door to the office burst open and the four kage and their bodyguards burst in. Mei Terumi pointed her finger at Kakashi and yelled, "Where the hell is Naruto, Kakashi?"

Gaara looked around the room. "Oh, Kami, Sakura's not here. Is Naruto—"

"He's fine," said Kakashi. "He's, er, sleeping it off. Sakura's keeping an eye on him."

Yamato snorted.

"Should we go check and make sure he's alright?" wondered Gaara.

"Er," said Kakashi. "I think Sakura's got it well in hand."

Yamato snorted again.

"Are you alright, Yamato-taicho?" Shikamaru said acerbically.

"You!" yelled the voices of three furious Kumo ninjas pointing at the Nara genius. "How dare you show your face here!"

"This is my village," reminded Shikamaru.

C meant to lunge for him when the door flew open again and this time Ibiki, Karin, Suigetsu, and Ino burst in. C stopped in his tracks and turned to face his once fiancé.

"You're pregnant?" gasped C. "Oh Kami, I'm so sorry. I understand now why you didn't want to get married." Ino's mouth dropped to the floor. "Though I wish you hadn't responded to my letters like that."

"What were you thinking?" wondered Karui.

"What letters?" asked Ino.

"Pregnant?" asked Shikamaru.

Gaara pulled at his red hair and said, "Enough of this! What happened to Naruto? What happened to the Kyuubi? For Kami's sake!"

Kakashi coughed to disguise his laugh and said, "We weren't able to stop him in time. Naruto extracted the Kyuubi. Then he sent Kurama back to the Torikku Forest where the other fox summons live."

"And he's still alive?" wondered Gaara.

"How is that possible?" wondered Darui. "I thought that whenever the bijuu is extracted, the host dies."

"The Uzumaki possess astounding vivacity," explained Yamato. "When Uzumaki Kushina had the Kyuubi ripped out of her, she survived too. Naruto is just weakened. He lost a lot of chakra when the Kyuubi was released. And he doesn't possess the gift of the Kyuubi's healing ability, so he's recovering slower than he would otherwise."

"But he's going to be fine?" asked Gaara.

"Yes," said Yamato. "He should be fine."

Gaara fell back to sit in a chair of sand that appeared behind him. "Thank Kami."

Kitsuchi took a deep breath. "That's a tragedy, but I'm glad the boy is alright at least. We wanted to talk more with you about these allegations about bijuu going missing. This is very serious."

Kakashi looked around at his office crowded to the gills. "I have a large conference room in my spiral tower, let's talk there. I have a feeling you'll want to sit down when you hear about this."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru was sleeping soundly next to her with his arms around her. One arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his chest. His other hand rested lightly on her hip. Her back was tucked snuggly into his chest and one of his legs rested between hers. His sleeping breaths puffing over the back of her neck at regular intervals helped to calm her raging mind. She was having trouble falling asleep._

_She needed to break the Kotoamatsukami. She didn't know how much longer she could live like this. She had tried everything, but nothing was working. Her chances of breaking it decreased every day as more of her chakra was being directed to the three fetuses growing in her womb. It didn't help that she needed to expend chakra on mindwipes as Sakura and Shikamaru noticed her pregnant stomach. _

_Itachi had sealed some of his chakra into her before leaving to fight Sasuke. She could sense his chakra levels, so she had been surprised when he sealed nearly a quarter of his chakra into her. He said that it was to help her break the genjutsu, but she didn't want to waste it on that. She wanted that little piece of his consciousness to be available in a couple years so that she could bring his children into her mindscape to meet their father._

_If Shikamaru decided to ever speak to her again after all this, she hoped that he would help her raise the children. She knew that it was a terrible burden to ask of him, but he would be a great father. Shikamaru and Itachi were very similar in many ways. She thought that they were more similar than even Itachi and Sasuke were. Maybe that's why she was able to enjoy her time with Itachi. He was like the Uchiha version of Shikamaru. They would be a little family together. Three children seemed a lot already, but she'd probably want to have Shikamaru's baby added to the number as well._

_She tensed when she heard the little chime downstairs heralding the front door to her store opening. Not now, please not now._

_She shifted out of Shikamaru's arms, hoping that he didn't wake up. Throwing on a robe and tiptoeing downstairs, she halted in the doorway, where SPIDER was sitting at the counter, playing around with the ikebana that she had been working on that evening._

_"You're taking a huge risk coming here," Ino whispered._

_"Your lover is fast asleep upstairs, Ino-chan," said SPIDER, "I'm not concerned."_

_"Even still," began Ino._

_"Or should I say husband. I'm curious how that happened actually. Care to explain?"_

_"We've been married for two months."_

_SPIDER snorted. "Tell me the truth."_

_Ino took a deep breath and said, "The Council arranged my marriage to some shinobi in a different country. Shikamaru was trying to prevent that from happening."_

_"They did what?" gasped SPIDER. She glanced around the shop. "Those fools, they could have ruined everything."_

_Ino rolled her eyes. "They even wanted me to sleep with Sasuke to conceive some Sharingan babies for them."_

_SPIDER snarled, "I didn't realize that they were causing so much trouble. We can't have that can we? Go upstairs and get that belladonna poison."_

_"What are you talking about?" said Ino narrowing her eyes._

_"The belladonna poison. Get it."_

_Ino huffed and went upstairs to get the little box of poison that she had been distilling. How did they know that she had been working on that? Had one of their ROOT agents been poking around in her shop? It was so infuriating to get ordered around like this. When she opened the door to her bedroom, she saw DRAGON crouched on the windowsill like an ugly gargoyle. He put a finger to his lips and gestured down to Shikamaru still sleeping soundly._

_"Do what she says," he mouthed to her._

_Ino glared at him and picked up the box and the handful of vials that she's already made. She sent a worried look at Shikamaru's slumbering form. _

_She mouthed to DRAGON, "Hurt him and I'll destroy you."_

_He merely rolled his eyes, not taking her threat seriously. _

_Ino backed out of the room, not taking her eyes off the ROOT commander. She hurried down the stairs and thrust the vials in SPIDER's hands. "Get the hell out of here, SPIDER."_

_The blonde woman chuckled and said, "We'll take care of the Konoha Council for you, darling. Sweet dreams. You better hurry back upstairs, DRAGON gets jealous."_

_She sprinted up the stairs. She stopped to lean against the doorway. DRAGON was gone from the window. Her curtains flapped in the nighttime closed the window and crawled back onto bed. Shikamaru, still fast asleep, pulled her into his arms._

* * *

**Yamato**

Kakashi led the way to the large conference room on the second floor of the spiral tower that housed the Hokage's office and various rooms. This conference room could only be opened with a blood seal and had a complicated weave of genjutsu around it. That kept the conversations in that room private.

The room was thankfully large, because there were the twelve foreigners and then the seven Konoha ninjas. They would have had trouble sitting the nearly twenty people somewhere else. Kakashi took one head of the table and Yamato took the other. The shinobi from other villages arranged themselves with the kage in the middle and the bodyguards on either side.

The Suna and Kumo teams sat closest to Kakashi with the Iwa and Kiri teams sitting down next to the Kumo team. Shikamaru and Ino sat next to Temari of the Sand. Shikamaru was holding onto Ino's hand and looking a little starry eyed. Ibiki, Karin, and Suigetsu sat next to Ino.

Kitsuchi slammed his fists down on the table. "So I want to know more about these missing bijuu. You all ran off in the middle of our Kage Summit. What the hell's going on?"

Kakashi looked uneasily down the table at Yamato. Yamato stared down Kakashi. The Hokage sighed and said, "Uh, I wish I could just retire and let Naruto take over. This job is becoming so stressful."

Darui rolled his eyes. "What's going on now? Did Uchiha Madara rise from the dead again?"

The other kage shared an uneasy laugh.

"Well, no," said Kakashi. "But we do have a problem. A big problem it seems. It's in the Land of Hot Water."

Darui perked up at that. "We've been investigating the Land of Hot Water and Yugakure for some time and haven't been able to gather any conclusive information about what's going on there. We were planning on resorting to drastic measures after we do or do not hear back from the information gathering team that we sent out two weeks ago."

Kakashi nodded. "Our team finally came back. Or what's left of them did. They had some dire news to report."

The Mizukage gripped the table. "Genma was in that group wasn't he? He told me that he was going to be on a mission for over a month. I haven't heard back from him yet."

"Yes, Mizukage-sama," said Yamato. "It was Yamashiro Aoba, Shiranui Genma, and Raido Namiashi."

The Mizukage took a deep breath. "You said what's left of them. Please tell me that he's…"

"He's fine," said Yamato. "He's the only one of the three that survived. He's been able to provide us with some very important information."

Mei Terumi stood up from her chair. "Is he in the hospital?"

The young woman who was one of the the Mizukage's bodyguards put a hand on the woman's shoulder and said, "I'll go to the hospital, Mizukage-sama, and report back. You should stay here and listen to what's going on."

Mei Terumi sat back down. "You're right, Izumi. Thank you."

The Mizukage's bodyguard slipped out of the room and ran down the stairs. Kakashi waited for the door to close before continuing, "We've had a serious issue with civil unrest within our village. There is a dangerous faction seeking to destroy Konoha."

Darui scowled. "Why it is that the threats to the security of the entire Shinobi World always seem to originate in Konoha?"

"We're just lucky?" shrugged Kakashi.

No one thought it was a funny joke. Kakashi shrugged and said, "This division broke out from our ANBU many years ago. It was led by Shimura Danzo, who you all know."

"But Danzo's dead," said the Mizukage. "Is he back from the dead?"

"No, he's good and dead, but his followers are still operating within his dangerous methodology," said Yamato. "Danzo had a great number of followers and they did not suffer the same losses that we did during the Akatsuki attack on Konoha and during the Shinobi War."

"Why's that?" wondered Gaara.

"They hid and didn't fight," said Kakashi. "We've received intel that they have a force of nearly three hundred shinobi."

Kitsuchi frowned. "So Konoha's dealing with a civil war. That's no skin off our back."

"That's not very sporting, Tsuchikage," Mei Terumi chided. "I thought that we were all allies now."

Kitsuchi said, "I'm sorry, I need to work on that. I'm just automatically biased against Konoha. Even though he was a great asset to us in the war, whenever I see that bust of Namikaze Minato on the Hokage Mountain I want to pound someone."

"Er," said Kakashi. "That's understandable."

His daughter put a calming hand on his fist. "But we're working on that, right, dad?"

Kitsuchi grumbled at her. Turning his gaze back to Kakashi, he demanded. "So if their forces are so strong, why haven't they attacked you yet? Are they afraid of Naruto?"

"That's what we suspect," said Yamato. "And now that Naruto is no longer a jinchuriki, we can only assume that they will attack us."

"What about Sasuke and that rogue mission?" asked Suigetsu. "Karin was saying that you think Root agents are trying to assassinate Sasuke."

Yamato nodded. "It's recently come to our attention that Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata were sent out in error on a mission with their two ANBU comrades who we now believe may be ROOT operatives. Uchiha Sasuke sent a hawk to inform me that he was suspicious of the whole thing. Our communication hasn't reached him yet. Their ANBU captain is taking them to Hot Water Country, to the Palace of the Yakuza family."

"Yakuza?" wondered Darui. "That family overthrew the previous Daimyo and set themselves as the Daimyo. Do you believe that they're involved in this as well?"

"Yes," said Yamato. "We believe that the Daimyo is allied with Root. Root's main force is in Yugakure and they are receiving financial support from the Yakuza family."

"So what information did you receive from your people about this mission?" asked Darui. "What's going on in the Land of Hot Water?"

"Genma reports that the Root army is in Yugakure in the numbers we anticipated. He also reports that…" began Kakashi.

The four kage hung on Kakashi's every word. "Reports what? What's going on?" wondered Mei Terumi.

"That Root is making jinchuriki," said Kakashi. "That must be where the bijuu have been disappearing to. We don't have it confirmed if all five of the beasts we spoke about during the Kage Summit are now in their possession, but we do have confirmation that the Shukaku and the Matatabi are. That was when things went awry for our team. Yamashiro Aoba and Raido Namiashi lost their lives and Genma barely made it out alive."

"By the Sage of the Six Paths," Darui cursed. "Have they created jinchuriki?"

"We're not sure," said Yamato. "We hadn't been aware that this was their plan. We've captured several Root operatives, but haven't gathered any conclusive evidence to help us understand their motives."

Ibiki nodded and said, "Their leaders are good at covering their tracks."

"They've infiltrated every department in Konoha," said Kakashi. "We can't be sure if destroying Naruto is the only thing they're after."

"You've been awfully quiet, Shikamaru," said Temari from her seat by his side.

Shikamaru had his fingers laced with Ino's and was paying little attention to the conversation. "Oh, sorry," said the Nara genius. "I got a little distracted." C rolled his eyes, muttering lucky bastard to himself. Darui nudged his friend with a quiet glare.

Shikamaru put a hand on Ino's belly and looked up at the table. "The King. I think I've figured out what Root is after. It's so obvious. I can't believe I hadn't realized it before. It's what Koharu was trying to do and the rest of us to each other: stealing bloodlines and abilities."

Kakashi gaped at him. "That's brilliant."

Shikamaru nodded, smoothing a hand on Ino's stomach where their baby was growing inside of her. "That's why Root would wait to wipe us off the map. They want to steal the great bloodlines from Konoha. That's why they grabbed Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata. They probably want to use them to breed more Sharingan and Byakugan users as disgusting as that sounds. That explains why they didn't just slit Naruto's throat. They probably wanted to steal the Namikaze/Uzumaki bloodline from him."

"That makes perfect sense," said Kakashi. "I can't believe we didn't think of that."

Uzumaki Karin shifted at the table. "Ino, is that how you came to be carrying _his_ children? I hadn't thought much of it before, it was just too shocking. But it makes sense."

"What do you mean?" wondered Shikamaru.

"You must be part of ROOT's plan," continued Karin, her eyes widening in realization. "I should have realized. How else could you be carrying _his_ children?"

Shikamaru stared at the red headed woman in confusion. "I don't see why it's so surprising."

Ino tensed next to him and every pair of eyes zeroed in on her. "It's not yours, Shika."

Shikamaru reeled back and several people's mouths dropped open in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The babies aren't yours, Shikamaru," continued Ino. "I'm so sorry."

Shikamaru dropped her hand and grabbed her arm tightly. "How can you be sure it's not mine?"

She looked down at her hands. "Because I was pregnant already the first time we had sex."

Shikamaru let go of her arm like it had scalded him and stood up from his seat. "Then who's the father? Was it that old boyfriend you mentioned before?"

Ino looked pained as she replied, "Yes."

"So who was he?"

Ino opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again, but it was just a squeak.

"It's Uchiha Itachi's," said Karin.

This was perhaps the very last response anyone had expected. They gaped at Ino. Shikamaru went to sit in an empty chair next to Yamato and gazed in surprise at the girl.

"Uchiha Itachi," said Mei Terumi. "That's impossible. He's been dead for…"

Temari grimaced. "You didn't … with his dead …"

There was a collective groan around the table.

"How is that possible?" wondered Yamato. "How far along are you, Ino?"

"Eighteen weeks," said the blonde girl.

Kakashi counted off on his fingers. "The war ended about ten weeks ago, Pein's invasion was about…"

"Sixteen weeks ago," said Yamato. "The Itachi Pursuit mission was about eighteen weeks ago. She must have been sleeping with Itachi while we were scouring the countryside for him."

Ino looked down at her hands, completely silent.

Ibiki blinked in surprise. "You've been hiding it behind those loose clothes. I'm surprised that Shikamaru or Sakura didn't notice though."

"She must have been mindwiping us," said Shikamaru from his chair down at the end of the table. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring at Ino.

"What's a mind wipe?" wondered Darui.

Ibiki looked uneasy. "It's a kinjutsu of the Yamanaka clan. Ino as a member of that clan can erase or change memories. But it's very difficult to do and requires an extreme amount of preparation."

"By the Sage of the Six Paths," gasped Kakashi. "Who've you been doing this to and for how long?"

Ino looked down at her hands. "I've been doing it since I started to show and Shika and Sakura became suspicious. I've done it fifteen times on Sakura." She turned her gaze to Shikamaru. "I've lost count of the number of times that I've had to do it on you, Shikamaru. You notice all the time. I'm so sorry."

Shikamaru was stubbornly silent.

"Are you a ROOT operative then?" asked Ibiki.

"No," said Ino.

The head of the Torture and Interrogation department looked at Karin. The red headed girl shook her head. "That's the truth."

"But you're the mole," continued Ibiki.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Ibiki snorted. "I doubt that."

"I had no choice," said Ino.

Shikamaru snorted. "People always have choices."

"You don't understand. I was forced to follow their instructions, I was powerless not to."

"Were they blackmailing you then?" wondered Yamato.

"No," said Ino.

"Bribing you?"

"No."

"Threatening you?"

"No."

Shikamaru stirred in his chair. "I heard about that special Sharingan eye that Danzo had. Did he use that on you?"

"No."

"She's lying," said Karin from two seats down.

"Er," said Kankuro with a grimace. "Really not helping, Red."

Ibiki explained, "Karin can sense whether or not a person is lying according to fluctuations in their chakra."

"Oh," said Kankuro. "So she wasn't just being a bitch, she was actually saying whether or not Ino was lying."

Mei Terumi shifted in her seat. "Ao told me about that jutsu. It's called the Kotoamatsukami. With it Danzo could compel Ino to do anything he wanted her to."

"That's horrible," said Kurotsuchi. "I've never liked the Sharingan."

Ibiki gripped Ino's shoulders. "Ino, have you met any of the big three?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Ino, which of the big three did you meet?"

"I haven't met any of the big three."

At the end of the table, Yamato asked, "Have you met POSSUM?"

"No."

He paused for a moment for Karin to contradict Ino's statement. When the Uzumaki girl didn't interrupt, the ANBU commander continued. "Have you met SPIDER?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Have you met DRAGON?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"What are their plans?" asked Ibiki.

"I've never met them. I don't know what their plans are."

"She's lying."

Shikamaru sighed. This interrogation was going to take forever. "So you're being commanded by this jutsu to lie or omit. Can you communicate the truth telepathically?"

Ino shook her head.

"Damn," Shikamaru muttered. "This is going to take forever if we have to pry the information out of her with yes or no questions."

Kankuro sat up from his chair. "Are you guys going to interrogate her now? Can you do that someplace else?"

"We need to decide what to do about the Yakuza and Yugakure," reminded Kitsuchi. "Time's of the essence."

"Right," said Yamato standing up. "I'll go with Shikamaru, Ino, Ibiki, and Karin to my office for the interrogation. You guys discuss strategy for the Land of Hot Water. Don't forget, they may have as many of five jinchuriki."


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Hi folks, we're nearing the end. I have the story outlined to the end, so the last chapter will be chapter 50. Yikes! Also, I might have a brief sequel - tentatively named_ The King -_ to clear up some of the loose ends. Not sure how long that will be; though, I can promise that it will be shorter than 50 chapters. :-)  
**

**Let me know if there's anything in particular that you want to see in the epilogue and I'll see if I can work it in. I'm currently drafting the story.**

* * *

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Forty **

"Mistrust is the most necessary characteristic of the chess player." - Siegbert Tarrasch

* * *

**Interlude**

_He could tell that his teammate was smiling widely as he said, "I wish I had a murderous younger brother. Being commanded by Pein to lay low sure is a nice way to spend the time."_

_"Hn," muttered Itachi. "I don't see why you had to choose an onsen. We'd probably…"_

_Kisame scoffed, "Jeez, 'tachi. You might be only like fifteen, but-"_

_"Twenty-two," Itachi corrected._

_"Onsens like this one that don't have separate bathing areas for men and women offer the unique opportunity for men like us to watch women bathing in a completely socially acceptable manner," continued Kisame. _

_"Somehow, I don't think that practice could ever be considered socially acceptable," quipped Itachi._

_Kisame leaned back against the wall of the pool, stretching his arms along the cooler tiles lining the hot spring. "It sounds like you don't know how to have fun, Itachi."_

_After dropping off the jinchuriki with the Akatsuki and getting the order to lay low, Kisame and Itachi had ventured into the Land of Fire. They hastened across the country careful to avoid shinobi patrols and any unwanted attention. _

_Kisame had been raving about the Blue Lagoon Onsen for years, so Itachi finally decided to humor his teammate and go with him to see the hot spring. It was close enough to the Uchiha Hideout where he planned to meet his brother after a week's time when Sasuke caught up to him. It would be a good place to lie low while he waited for Sasuke to approach._

_The Blue Lagoon Onsen was on the coastal village of Raguun; it was in the southeast of the Land of Fire, several days south of Konoha. Raguun was famous throughout the Land of Fire. It was known to many as the Floating Village of Raguun. The ocean was just over the long islands stretching across the mouth of the lagoon. The barrier islands protected Raguun from the tides and the storms._

_Huge pylons had been sunk down into the brackish water to anchor and support the larger buildings. The onsen with its heated pools was supported by stilts, buoyed up by a total of ten huge oak trunks. Rows of wooden stairs came down to the surface of the water where the floating walkways were suspended in mazes connecting all of the rooms of the onsen. _

_The two Akatsuki members relaxed in one of the main outdoor pools. It was early March and still a bit brisk outside, but the onsen's pool was heated making the two teammates perfectly comfortable._

_The dark haired eyed Uchiha scoffed before brushing his bangs back from his face. His long hair was sticking to the back of his neck uncomfortably. His bangs clung to the perspiration on his face. "Even so, the sample of beautiful women here is rather slim."_

_Kisame narrowed his eyes and glanced around. "Picking aren't terrible, 'tachi. Some of the women are really beautiful if you think you can handle one."_

_Itachi snorted. "I'll leave that for you."_

_Kisame chuckled. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, 'tachi. You only live once."_

_Itachi brushed his bangs out of his eyes and commented, "Do you have any idea how many missing nins get killed or captured after having one night stands with beautiful women in onsens?"_

_Kisame smirked. "Sounds like a nice way to go to me."_

_Itachi rolled his eyes._

_Resting his head on one arm, Kisame turned to his friend. "How long do you think you have? When are you going to meet Sasuke?"_

_Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "Not much longer than a week."_

_"Whoa, who's that?" wondered Kisame._

_Itachi opened his eyes and looked to the front of the onsen where his teammate was staring. A young blonde woman brushed aside the fabric covering the doorway to the outdoor bathing facility and walked out along the small promenade. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he'd ever seen. The tiny white towel she wrapped around herself did little to hide her generous breasts, slender waist, curvaceous hips, and lean long legs. Her blonde hair fell in a glorious wave to her lower back. Her bright blue eyes gazed straight at him, betraying some secret in their depths. _

_He felt immediately ashamed of himself for sizing her up as a piece of meat like he and surely every other man in the pool was._

_Kisame nudged him. "Even if it's only for a week, you might as well enjoy yourself, eh?" _

_Itachi stuttered, "I—I…"_

_Kisame chuckled. "Don't sweat it 'tachi. I can delay Sasuke a couple days for you if you'd like. Give you some time to get to know Blondie better. Think of it as a present from one teammate to another."_

_He held his breath as she dropped her towel and waded into the water. She was the goddess Amaterasu. _

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Following them into the ANBU commander's office was like walking to the gallows. He felt a white hot rage welling up within him as he watched the blonde girl he loved walk in front of him. She was four months pregnant with some other man's child and she'd been wiping his brain to ensure that he didn't figure it out.

Ibiki, who would have normally been ecstatic at capturing such an information rich captive, was somber. Yamato pulled up a chair and had Ino sit down in front of them. Yamato and Ibiki stood tall in front of their captive. Karin went to sit on Yamato's desk. Out of all of them, she looked the most upset. Ino's expression was completely closed off. Shikamaru leaned against the wall, watching.

Ibiki nodded to Karin. "Restrain her."

The red haired girl looked uncomfortable. "It's Ino. I hardly think that's necessary."

Ino's face betrayed no emotion. Shikamaru was having trouble looking at her. "Do it, Karin," said the girl. "I'm a prisoner."

Ibiki sighed unhappily as Karin gathered a set of chakra restraining cuffs from Yamato's cabinets and cuffed her friend's hands behind her. "I guess we should get started," said Ibiki. "Is Shinju DRAGON or SPIDER?"

"No."

"She's lying."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, listening to the battery of questions. Ino's voice was a dull monotone as she spoke, answering each question with the word no. Ibiki, Karin, and Yamato alternated with questions. Karin's voice interrupted the back and forth to tell whether or not Ino was telling the truth.

"Is Shinju DRAGON?"

"No."

"She's lying."

Yamato sighed. "This is worse than we thought. Sasuke's ANBU captain is one of the ROOT commanders. He and Hinata are in terrible danger."

Ibiki continued with the interrogation. "Is SPIDER a member of ANBU?"

"No."

"Is SPIDER in T&I?"

"No."

It was so obvious. How had the other three not figured it out? "Is SPIDER a medical ninja at the hospital?" Shikamaru interjected.

"No."

"She's lying."

The others blinked in surprise. Shikamaru explained his reasoning, "If part of their plan involves Yamanaka Ino's baby, it makes sense that they would have a medical ninja available to provide care for her."

Ibiki nodded. "That makes sense." He turned back to Ino. "Is SPIDER a man?"

"No."

"Is SPIDER a woman?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Is SPIDER in the maternity ward?" asked Yamato.

"No."

"She's lying."

Karin scratched her head. "What was the name of that blonde curly haired doctor?"

"Fuiji Aiko," answered Ino.

Ibiki frowned at her. "Is she SPIDER?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Are there other ROOT operatives trying to steal Konoha bloodlines? Or ninjas being coerced like you?" asked Ibiki.

"No."

"She's lying."

"In Konoha do you know of more than one besides yourself?" asked Yamato.

"No."

"She's lying."

"Do you know of more than two?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Do you know of more than three?"

"No."

"So there's at least three that Ino knows about," muttered Ibiki. "I wonder who they could be."

Shikamaru sighed and directed hard eyes at the woman he loved. "Are they trying to get someone pregnant with Naruto's child?"

"No."

"She's lying."

Yamato looked uneasy. "I don't think Naruto would sleep with someone unless it was Sakura."

"Is Sakura the one?" asked Karin.

"No."

"She's lying."

"Is she being controlled like you are?" asked Ibiki.

"No."

"Is she being tricked into it?" asked Yamato.

"No."

"She's lying."

Karin tossed her red hair back. "She's perfectly placed for an operation like this, SPIDER. She can give Sakura something that ensures that she'll conceive. Sakura might think she's taking birth control or something."

"Is that what SPIDER's doing?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"We'll need to do a checkup on Sakura as soon as possible to see if she's pregnant."

"We can do that next," said Karin. "I wonder what other bloodlines they would steal."

"Yamato's Mokuton would be an obvious choice, but would that work if he wasn't born with the kekkei genkai," wondered Ibiki. Turning to Ino, he asked, "Ino, does ROOT have an operative trying to get a child by Yamato?

"No."

"She's lying."

Ibiki turned to Yamato. "You'd be better at this part of the questioning. You'd know better than me who's trying to get into your pants."

"Er, right," said the ANBU commander. Blushing bright red, Yamato asked, "Is it Yamanaka Chika?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Is she a Root agent?"

"No."

Karin scratched her head. "Ino said there was a Root agent involved too. Maybe there are two people involved. Anyone else, Yamato-taicho?"

Yamato shrugged and said, "Is it Otsuka Kimiko?"

"No."

"She's lying."

"Is she the Root agent?"

"No."

"She's lying."

Ibiki frowned over at Yamato. "Way to be duped by Root, Yamato."

Yamato looked embarrassed. "She hasn't been successful. Kakashi keeps interfering with our dates for shits and giggles."

"That Kakashi," said Ibiki. "Looks like one of his pranks actually worked out for the best in the end. Who would have thought?"

"Kami, I'm never going to hear the end of it," muttered Yamato. "Chika could be pregnant. Ino, have you heard anything about Yamanaka Chika?"

"She's two weeks pregnant," said Ino.

Everyone gaped.

Ino glanced down at her hands. "I'm not sure that she knows yet."

"Kami," said Yamato, sitting down heavily. "Was she tricked too?"

"No."

"She's lying."

Yamato put his head in his hands. "I'm going to be a father? Root is trying to steal my baby?"

Turning to Ino, Ibiki asked, "Do you know anything about the rest of ROOT's plans?"

"No."

"She's telling the truth," said Karin.

Ibiki crossed his arms over his chest. "Well I guess we're done here, unless anyone has any more questions."

Shikamaru unhitched himself from the wall where he had been leaning during the interrogation and walked forward to stand in front of Ino. "I have a couple questions."

The ANBU commander and two members of T&I looked at him uneasily. "You don't want to do this, Shikamaru," said Yamato.

"I do," he replied, standing with his back to Yamato and Ibiki and staring down Ino. "Was he your first then?"

"Yes." She couldn't look at him. He wanted to grab her and shake her.

"How many times did you sleep together?"

She glanced up at him in alarm. "I—"

"How many times?" Shikamaru pressed.

Ino put her head in her hands and said, "I dunno. Five times?"

Shikamaru let out a hiss of fury. "Was he good, Ino? Did you enjoy him?" he sneered.

"Shikamaru—" began Karin.

"Ino?" prompted Shikamaru again.

Ino looked at him with furious eyes. "What do you want me to say, Shikamaru?"

"Did he make you come?" Shikamaru asked.

"That's none of your business!" she yelled.

"None of our business either," Yamato stage whispered to Ibiki, who nodded emphatically.

"But did he?" repeated Shikamaru.

She glared at him. "He did, okay. He was good to me."

"So did you ever love me at all?" Shikamaru raged. "Or was it all just a game to you? See if you can get better with your mind wipes by messing around in my brain?"

"I do love you, Shikamaru!" she yelled at him.

He waved a hand at her. "You'll have to forgive me if I'm skeptical. Did you love him?"

Ino said softly, "I don't know. In a way, yes."

Shikamaru tensed as if struck. "I see." He turned his back on her and walked to the door.

"Please, Shikamaru. You'll have to talk to me sometime."

He whirled around with his hand on the doorknob. "That's where you're wrong, Ino. I never plan to talk to you again." He slammed the door to Yamato's office behind him.

Ino put her head in her hands and began to cry.

"What should we do with her then?" asked Yamato uncertainly.

Ibiki sighed unhappily. "She's dangerous now while she's controlled by that genjutsu. We need to have someone monitoring her."

Yamato crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't the resources to spare someone now with what's going with ROOT."

Ibiki ran a hand over his eyes. "We'll have to lock her up in the cells below T&I then."

"You can't be serious," said Karin.

* * *

**Interlude**

_The setting sun set the lagoon on fire. The water was placid that evening, gentle ripples flowed against his feet as he sat on the edge of one of the floating walkways outside the onsen. Raguun was truly a floating village. _

_Lanterns burned brightly in the coming darkness, strung across the palm trees rising from the lagoon like quiet sentinels. Lamps flickered on the edges of the floating walkways, to light the path. A little dark haired woman with a lamp ran to and fro lighting them. _

_The light from the onsen spilled out onto the dock as the door opened and a figure stepped out into the twilight. Her sweet silhouette was cast in front of her, falling over him. The soft light from the lanterns turned her hair to molten gold. His goddess's bare feet made little noise on the stairs. When she stepped onto the floating path, it swayed gently below them. She was so beautiful. It was a shame that she was there to betray him._

_"Do you mind if I join you," asked the girl, stopping in front of him. "It's such a beautiful sunset. Maybe we could share it."_

_Itachi nodded and said, "It would be my pleasure." _

_She sat beside him, sliding her feet into the water. She looked down at the small lotus blossoms floating at her feet. "It's so beautiful here, don't you think? I'm glad that I have my room for the week."_

_Raising an eyebrow, he considered her. "Yes. My friend recommended the place to me. Though it's a shame, he left this evening for business."_

_The girl tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry to hear that." She leaned towards him, her eyes shining with a secret. He vaguely noticed her hands weaving handsigns. "I'm here by myself too. Maybe we could—"_

_Itachi frowned at her and his eyes bled crimson. "So are you an assassin or a seductress?"_

_The girl gaped at him. "What do you mean?"_

_He gripped her wrists in his hands and pulled them apart before she could complete the jutsu. Her face betrayed fear. "I wasn't born yesterday. I can recognize a kunoichi on an infiltration mission as well as anyone. So what are you after then? The bounty or the kekkei genkai?"_

_She blinked innocently at him. "I don't understand. Have I done something to offend you?"_

_He pursed his lips. "I recognize those handsigns belonging to a jutsu of the Yamanaka clan so you must be a kunoichi from Konoha. Did Danzo send you?"_

_"How did you know?" Ino asked._

_"Simple observation and deductive reasoning," he noted. "You couldn't have found me so easily without ROOT's help."_

_She struggled in his grasp. "They want your kekkei genkai. They want me to…to..."_

_His crimson eyes were cold. "Did you think that I would be so easily seduced? You're way in over your head, Yamanaka. I'll give you one chance to back off. Meddle with me after that and you'll be sorry."_

_Itachi applied more pressure to her wrists. He could feel the bones in her wrist creaking in protest. He had definitely sprained one of them. But the girl stilled in his grasp and stared him down resolutely. She was either very brave or very foolish. _

_Her breath was unsteady from the pain as she gasped out, "I…I can't."_

_He broke her wrist. She let out a muffled scream of pain. "Last chance, girl," he said. "Whatever Danzo's holding over you, it's not worth meddling in my affairs." _

_Instead of cowering from him, she glared at him coolly. "That's easy for you to say," she spat. "Don't you think that I've already weighed the risks? Do you think I would be here if I had any other options?"_

_"I'm not one to be trifled with," he threatened, putting added pressure on her broken wrist._

_She glared back. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she tried to hold back the scream of pain. She snarled through gritted teeth, "Neither am I."_

_"What's your name?" he wondered._

_"Yamanaka Ino."_

_He released her wrist and stood up, considering her. "Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"_

_She remained seated, resting her broken wrist in her lap as she applied healing chakra to it. Her face glowed in the green light of her chakra. "Nothing but trouble. I would leave the Uchiha clan to their fate if I had the choice. Kami, I hate that bastard Danzo. The world would be better if the Sharingan became extinct." _

_Itachi's brows furrowed as he tried to puzzle out the meaning in her words. "You're probably right. The Uchiha clan is plagued by the Curse of Hatred."_

_She sighed deeply and stood up having finished healing her wrist. "Are you going to kill me then?"_

_He considered her. "I haven't decided yet. Are you willing to die over this?"_

_Her eyes blinked rapidly, keeping in the unshed tears. "I wasn't given the luxury of making that decision for myself."_

_Itachi stared at her. "Did he use the Kotoamatsukami on you?"_

_"How did you—"_

_"You're not a member of ROOT. You don't have the tattoo on your tongue," Itachi mused. "Why did Danzo choose you? You're beautiful to be sure, but there must have been another reason. Does he want another pair of Shisui's eyes? His mother was a woman from the Yamanaka clan. If only I hadn't already given Shisui's other eye to Naruto yesterday."_

_"Y-yesterday?" Ino gasped. "Can you reverse his genjutsu with your eyes?"_

_Itachi shook his head. "Shisui's jutsu is too powerful even for my eyes."_

_Ino pleaded, "Your brother, Sasuke, his dream is to resurrect the Uchiha clan. You've done him a terrible wrong. This could be your way of paying penance. Give me a child." _


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: Er, save me from myself? So I'm drafting the plot to the sequel and it's devolving into a SasuInoShika/InoShikaTema/InoSasuHina mess. Will I be shot if this happens? **

* * *

**Chapter Forty-One**

"Nowadays grandmasters no longer study their opponent's games so much, but they study his character, his behavior and his temperament in the most thorough fashion." - David Bronstein

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

Kakashi sat back in his chair as the kage argued about how to proceed. The Hokage had sent Pakkun out to retrieve Naruto, so he was unsurprised when the peeved looking blonde boy appeared in the Hokage's conference room.

"What's going on, Kakashi?" wondered Naruto. "Why didn't you want Sakura to go to this meeting too?"

"See you later, Naruto," said Pakkun before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Gaara walked over to the blonde boy and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad that you're alright."

Mei Terumi beamed. "Don't go scaring us like that again, Naruto."

"Yeah, we need you in tip top shape so that you can take over as Hokage," reminded Kakashi.

Naruto scratched the back of his head laughing, "I'll be sure not to scare you guys like that again."

"So what's the plan of attack then?" asked Darui.

Kakashi pouted. "I usually have Shikamaru do this stuff for me," he muttered.

Kitsuchi huffed. "Sometimes I wonder how you got elected at all, Kakashi."

"It's not for his stunning good looks," agreed Temari.

Naruto looked around the room, utterly perplexed. "I don't get it. What's going on?"

The door opened and the interrogation group walked in. Yamato walked in the front of the group, grim faced. Ibiki and Karin trailed behind, whispering to each other. Shikamaru was at the back of the group, glaring at the floor.

"We've finished the interrogation and locked her up in the cells in T&I," said Yamato. "How are you guys doing?"

"We were waiting for Shikamaru to get back so he could tell Kakashi what to do," quipped Temari.

"Locked who up?" wondered Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed heavily and said, "I think it's time for you to assign that S-Rank Mission, Kakashi."

Yamato blinked in surprise. "The S-Rank Mission? It's time?"

"It actually exists?" wondered Naruto. "I thought it was just an excuse for you not to do work."

"You've finally processed it?" gaped Ibiki.

"More or less," said Kakashi with a shrug.

Kakashi nodded to Yamato, who nodded back. Taking out two scrolls from his pocket, the ANBU commander unrolled them on the table. Everyone walked over to the table and leaned over to read the words on the scrolls.

The first scroll was for an A-Rank Mission completed by the T&I department. Yamato must have filled out the completed date that evening before heading back into the Hokage's Conference room.

**Date Commissioned**: May 13th

**Mission Sponsor: **Hatake Kakashi, Yamato

**Date Assigned**: May 13th

**Date Completed**: July 6th

**Mission Rank**: A-Rank

**Mission Parameters**: Discover Identities of ROOT Leaders, Discover ROOT'S plans

**Team Assigned**: Morino Ibiki, Uzumaki Karin, Yamanaka Ino

Kakashi turned to his ANBU Commander. "You've figured out their identities then?"

"We were able to get it out of Ino," said Ibiki. "She's met DRAGON and SPIDER. So we were able to use the process of elimination."

"Who are they then?" wondered Kakashi.

"Watanabe Shinju and Fujii Aiko," said Karin.

Suigetsu gasped, "So we were right about Sasuke's ANBU captain being a member of ROOT."

"Let's go get them," said Naruto. "They're both in the village."

"Watanabe Shinju is gone," said Yamato. "He left while we were at the Kage Summit. He was able to convince Sasuke and Hinata that they were going on a mission. They're headed to the Yakuza palace in the Land of Hot Water."

"Have you tried reverse summoning the team?" wondered Kakashi.

"There seals are deactivated," said Yamato. "We tried on the way here."

"So we're going to have to retrieve them," said Kakashi.

"Yeah," agreed the ANBU commander. "We should also put Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Chika under guard. They're ROOT's next targets."

"Sakura is one of ROOT's targets!" gasped Naruto. "She's alone at my apartment!"

Yamato's eyes widened. "Chika's alone too. Naruto, I want you, Karin and Suigetsu to go retrieve Sakura and Chika and bring them here."

"Got it," said Karin. She nodded to the two boys and the group disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Kakashi pulled back the second scroll and looked at the S-Rank mission that he'd been trying to assign for so long.

**Date Commissioned**: May 5th

**Mission Sponsor: **Hatake Kakashi, Yamato, Morino Ibiki

**Date Assigned**:

**Date Completed**:

**Mission Rank**: S-Rank

**Mission Parameters**: Neutralize ROOT

**New Mission Parameter**: Discover Identities of ROOT Leaders, Discover ROOT'S plans

**New Mission Parameter Date**: May 13th

**New Mission Parameter**: Discover Identities of POSSUM, DRAGON, and SPIDER

**New Mission Parameter Date**: May 25th

**New Mission Parameter**: Capture DRAGON (Watanabe Shinju) and SPIDER (Fujii Aiko) dead or alive, Place Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Chika into protective custody, Put Yamanaka Ino under watch in T&I, Rescue Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata, Destroy ROOT'S jinchuriki

**New Mission Parameter** Date: July 6th

**Team Assigned**:

Gaara turned to the others. "We still have the issue of ROOT's jinchuriki. Sasuke and Hinata's disappearance is a concern for Konoha, but these jinchuriki are a concern for the entire shinobi world."

"We need to eliminate this faction that has betrayed Konoha," said Darui.

"You need to declare that all the ninjas of ROOT are missing ninjas," agreed Mei Terumi. "Then we're all well within our rights to deal out justice."

"We need to crush this upstart village before they attack us," Kitsuchi agreed.

Gaara nodded. "Suna will support Konoha in fighting against ROOT in Yugakure."

"Kumo will also suppose Konoha."

"Kiri as well," said Mei Terumi.

"And Iwa," said the Tsuchikage.

Kakashi nodded in approval. "On behalf of Konoha, I'd like to offer my thanks."

Darui nodded to C, who took a step forward and said, "Considering ROOT's numbers and reported strength. We would need fifteen four-man squads from each village. That should be more than enough to crush them."

Temari glanced sideways at Shikamaru who was still staring in shock at the ground. "I can assist in selecting squads for the mission. I've become familiar with the strengths of many Konoha, Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa ninjas during the war. I'll ensure that our battalion will be successful."

"Will that be enough to take on five jinchuriki?" wondered Kitsuchi. "The might of the bijuu is incredible."

"They're untrained," reminded Karui. "They've only had the beasts sealed inside them for a two months at the very longest. They shouldn't be able to use the full might of a jinchuriki yet."

"Even still," said Mei Terumi. "We can't be too careful."

"I don't know how long we can wait," said Yamato. "They will know that we're on their tails. We should strike before they're prepared for us. If we wait, they will only grow stronger."

Gaara looked around the room. "We could do it, the five kage."

"That's foolhardy in the extreme, Gaara," scolded his older sister.

"The Kazekage makes a good point," said Yamato.

Kakashi scratched his masked cheek. "We do have Sai hanging out in The Land of Hot Water. We could always have him summon us. That'll cut down on some of the travel time. We could be there in minutes."

"But that would only work with ANBU members," reminded Yamato.

Kakashi shrugged. "We'll figure it out."

"We should wait until we have gathered our battalion to fight them," said Temari. "If we go now, we might be slaughtered."

"Sasuke will be dead if we don't hurry," reminded Kakashi. "He's the last…"

"Not anymore," reminded Darui. "Let Sasuke die. Yamanaka Ino is carrying Itachi's children. We need not concern ourselves about the future of the Uchiha kekkei genkai. Sasuke is not the last Uchiha anymore."

It was almost as if they had sensed the kages considering leaving their friend in the lurch. Naruto, Karin, and Suigetsu appeared in the room. Kakashi and Yamato shared a look of horror. Had Naruto …

"They're not there!" gasped out the blonde haired boy.

"Who's not there?" wondered Kakashi with wide eyes.

"Sakura and Chika. They're gone!"

"What do you mean they're gone?" yelled Yamato.

"Was there a sign of struggle?" wondered Ibiki.

"No," said Karin. "It's like they just left."

"Akio might have grabbed them. She could have caught them off guard," said Ibiki.

"We have to go save them," announced Naruto.

"Naruto!" growled Yamato. "I know you want to save Sakura, but you need to think logically about this and not go running off."

"Don't you care about Chika, Yamato? She's missing too!"

Kakashi looked curiously at his ANBU commander. It was hard to read the expression in the other man's dark eyes. "Of course I care. Of course I'm worried. But we need to have a plan."

Naruto looked around at the others. "Who said I didn't have a plan?"

The entire group coughed and looked at each other knowingly.

"I do have a plan," said Naruto petulantly. "And it's a good plan."

Everyone shared a second amused glance.

Naruto huffed. Pointing at the people sharing amused glances, he said, "We'll split into two groups, an alpha and a beta group. The alpha group will infiltrate and attack Yugakure, targeting the jinchuriki. That'll be comprised of…everyone who went to the Kage Summit."

Noticing Yamato's pout, Naruto amended, "except Yamato. He'll lead the beta group. The beta group's mission is to retrieve Sasuke and Hinata from the Yakuza Palace. They'll also determine if Sakura and Chika were taken there. When they've completed their mission, they will join the alpha team and assist us with the jinchuriki. The beta team will be….everyone else."

"Everyone else," muttered Suigetsu. "I guess that's us."

"That is a pretty good plan," Yamato stage whispered to Kakashi.

Kakashi huffed. "Maybe I should just retire after all."

"I agree with Naruto's plan. Temari, Kankuro and I will assist you," said Gaara.

Mei Terumi put a hand on her hip. "Izumi, Chojuro and I will join you."

Darui and C shared a glance. "Karui, C, and I will join Naruto's group."

"We're game," said the Tsuchikage.

* * *

**Interlude**

_The flowers had been delivered late from The Land of Hot Water. There was some delay in transport out of the country, something to do with a coup d'état the Yakuza family was organizing. The coup d'état wasn't her problem, but the orders that were behind because of the late delivery were her problem. _

_She worked late into the night, twining the delicate blooms into place for the funeral arrangements. The services were tomorrow, so the flowers needed to be finished tonight. She fell asleep at her desk as she was halfway through the last arrangement. _

_She was wandering through the dungeons beneath the T&I department. These high security cells were where they kept their most dangerous prisoners. She had been to the department several times during the years while learning her clan's techniques from her father. He would sometimes put her in charge of the mindwalk for a subject they were interrogating. During one visit, they had visited the dungeons, the image of it burned forever in her brain._

_It was in this place that she stored the consciousness's of dangerous ninjas whose minds she had invaded. She locked them up in this high security block until she had the time and chakra to dispel them. When she reached the hallway to the cells, she found the keys being held out to her by the warden. This was new. She'd never had a warden before. Uchiha Itachi smiled at her with soft dark eyes, his dark hair gathered at the nape of his neck by a crimson ribbon. He wore a dark cloak over equally dark shirt and pants._

_"I didn't expect to see you here," she said._

_"I'm wherever you need me," he replied._

_She took the keys from him and unlocked the door. As she stepped into the hallway containing the prison cells, the man followed her. He was only a couple inches taller than her, a handsome shadow. "Be careful," she warned him. "I can get dangerous in here."_

_"I have you here to protect me, don't I," he quipped._

_Ino rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"_

_"I'm wherever you need me. Your chakra is stretched thin, so some of your guests have become rowdy. I've been guarding the door to ensure that they don't slip out and cause you any trouble."_

_Ino blinked. "Stretched thin?"_

_The man nodded. "You must have realized that your mental and physical energies were being harnessed in new ways because of your pregnancy."_

_"I hadn't realized what else the chakra drain would affect. I'll need to prioritize clearing out these consciousnesses."_

_They paused at the cell of a man sitting in the corner glaring at them. His hands were bound together and he had been stripped of all his weapons. He raised his head to her, his mane of wild golden hair like a devilish halo around his head. "Let me out of this cage girl."_

_"I'll release you when I'm ready for you to leave this place," Ino called out in a commanding voice. "Not a second before."_

_They walked along the rest of the hallway through rows of empty cells. At the end of the hall was the door to a windowless room. A large padlock and thick chains kept the door closed. No one could see in or out of the room. _

_"The cause of all your troubles is behind that door. Have you not discovered a way to break it yet?" asked her companion._

_Ino sighed discontentedly. "Not yet."_

_Itachi put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know that you'll find a way. No one understands the mind better than a member of the Yamanaka clan. It's in your blood."_

_"I've tried everything. It's impossible."_

_"The girl I know wouldn't surrender so easily."_

_"Then you must not know me very well."_

_He chuckled. "I knew you well enough, didn't I? If anyone can do it, you can. Every jutsu has a weakness."_

_"Even the Kotoamatsukami?"_

_"Even that one."_

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

The T&I cells were less fun from the other side. The ANBU commander and the Head of the Torture and Interrogation had looked in at her with sad expressions before they left her alone.

"I'm sorry, Ino," said Yamato. "You're simply too dangerous to be let free."

"We'll be back soon. Sit tight," said Ibiki. "We'll break you out of that genjutsu."

Their footsteps had echoed down the hallway and then the iron door and a ring of keys jingled as they walked of the prison. Ibiki's voice was soft when he said, "Keep an eye on her, but don't get too close. She's the mole. She's dangerous."

"Got it," said Nobuo, the warden.

The prison was thankfully quiet; there weren't any other prisoners under guard today. She sat down on top of the little cot that was to be her bed for the near future. It was dank and cold down in the cells. A light film of mildew lined the stone walls. Lying back, she looked up at the dark ceiling. There were words carved on the ceiling in a rusty paint that looked like blood.

_WE __**ROOT**__ ARE __**ROOT**__ THE __**ROOT**__ unseen __**ROOT**__ ones __**ROOT**__ who support __**ROOT**__ the great __**ROOT**__**ROOT ROOT ROOT**__ tree of Konoha __**ROOT**__ from __**ROOT ROOT **__the __**ROOT **__depths __**ROOT**__ of __**ROOT **__the earth __**ROOT ROOT ROOT ROOT ROOT **__**ROOT**_

Ew, creepy.

There was a broken fingernail stuck into the last word. Had the T&I department unhinged the mind of the previous inmate or did his ROOT leaders?

She closed her eyes and focused her chakra, bringing the prison within her own mind into her mindscape. Itachi stood in front of the gate with the keys. Unlocking the huge padlock, he nodded to her before walking down the hallway.

They stopped together in front of the locked door of the prisoner. "Are you ready, Ino?" he asked.

"Let's do this," said Ino.

Itachi moved the keys to the padlock on the locked door.

"My, my, Ino-darling," said a voice from the hallway outside of her mind, "what a fine mess you've gotten yourself into."

Ino sat up, jolting out of her mindscape at the sinister purr of SPIDER. She glanced up and saw the blonde curly haired woman standing next to the warden outside her cell. "How the hell did you get here, SPIDER?"

"CHAMELEON was kind enough to let me in to visit. You look so lonely. Not very sporting of Ibiki to put you in chains like that, was it?"

Ino looked at the warden who smiled mysteriously back. "He's one of you too?"

"Yes," said SPIDER. "He doesn't get to hear as much about Ibiki's plans as you do, so we were glad to get you on the inside too."

"Are you here to taunt me?" wondered the imprisoned kunoichi.

"Not at all," said SPIDER. "We're going on a little trip, darling. Come with us."


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: Hi everyone. Thanks for all the advice and requests about pairings in the sequel. I've decided to ditch the Ino/Shikamaru/Temari love triangle. Yay! So the pairings in the sequel will be: Ino/Shikamaru and a Ino/Sasuke/Hinata love triangle with some one sided Sasuke/Ino.**

**We'll still have the Naruto/Sakura, Kakashi/Anko, and Yamato/Chika subpairings too.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two**

"I had a slightly inferior endgame that probably should have been drawn, but Kortchnoi kept torturing me with little threats until finally, exhausted and exasperated, I made a losing mistake." - Pal Benko

* * *

**Interlude**

_Trudging up the hill, she was unsurprised to see Shikamaru sprawled out in the grass staring up at the clouds. "I thought I'd find you here," she said._

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You put me here." Indicating the hill with a nod, he asked, "How are you doing this?"_

_Ino crossed her arms over her chest and gazed at the clouds above her. "I gave you a mindwipe."_

_Shikamaru stood up and grabbed her arms tightly. "I'm aware of that. Why am I here? Where am I? What have you done? Where's my body?" _

_Ino stood still, conscious not to struggle in his grasp. She didn't want to upset him more. "You're fine. Your mind is still in your body. I've only removed a tiny bit of your consciousness, several memories to be exact."_

_Shikamaru blinked in surprise. "So we're in your mind."_

_She nodded. "Yes. We are in my mind."_

_He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I was under the impression that when you or Inoichi performed mindwipes, the memories were erased completely. Lost."_

_Ino nodded. "They are. That's the purpose of the technique, to erase memories from our enemies so that they can't steal valuable intel."_

_"I didn't realize that I was your enemy," said Shikamaru tensely. His grip of her arms was painful._

_Ino pursed her lips. "You're not my enemy, that's why I was careful to save the memories that I stole."_

_"So you can give them back someday?" wondered Shikamaru._

_"That's the idea," said Ino._

_Shikamaru snorted and released her, sitting back down in the grass. "I'm never going to let you use jutsu on me again, Ino. How could you be so foolish? I thought you were better than this. What could you possibly have to gain?"_

_"I'm sorry," she said. _

_He peered up at her curiously. "What's going on? Why don't you want me to know that you're pregnant?"_

_Ino sighed and sat down next to him. "It's complicated."_

_He frowned at her. "Are you planning to get rid of it? Are you scared that I don't want it?" He grabbed her hand. "I'll help you raise it. You don't need to be afraid."_

_"That's not the issue," said Ino shaking her head. "I'm not going to get rid of it."_

_Shikamaru sighed in annoyance and glanced back up at the clouds. "Then why else would you— it's not mine then, is it?"_

_"Shika, I'm so sor—"_

_"Save your breath," Shikamaru snarled. "Whose is it then?"_

_"It's a long story."_

_Shikamaru snorted. "Well lucky for me I have nothing but time. This piece of my consciousness is trapped here in your mindscape after all."_

* * *

**Haruno Sakura**

The first thing she noticed as how groggy she felt. They must have drugged her after they knocked her out. There were large blanks in her memory. She remembered making love to Naruto and then he was summoned to the Hokage Building by Pakkun.

What happened after that? Someone arrived on Naruto's doorstep looking for her. Looking back it was strange, but she was so flustered that she didn't think anything of it. Fujii Aiko said that there was an emergency at the hospital and her help was needed. She ran ahead of Aiko towards the hospital. All she remembered after that was pain and then darkness.

She shifted trying to pull her ankles out of the shackles attached to the wall. Why had they cuffed her upside down like this? Her legs up were in the air with her ankles shackled into the wrist restraints. All the blood rushed to her head making her woozy. She tried to channel some of her chakra, but she wasn't able to. They must have sealed her chakra while she was out cold. Her pink hair fell over her face, making it difficult to see anything. They weren't in a dungeon, but the floors and walls were bare and there was only one entrance in and out of the room.

There was someone else on the other side of the room. She couldn't see her well, but she was very still. The other woman's strawberry blonde hair was a mess, but Sakura recognized the face of Naruto's ANBU captain, Yamanaka Chika.

The door creaked open and two blonde women walked in. Sakura glared at Fujii Aiko as she waltzed in but was taken aback as Aiko stepped closer and the face of the other woman was revealed.

"Ino?" Sakura gaped.

Ino's face was carefully blank. "Hi, Sakura."

"What are you doing here?" Sakura growled. She struggled against the restraints keeping her feet shackled to the wall. She felt so helpless with her legs up in the air and fettered to the wall above her. She lay supine on her back, completely at their mercy.

"Hold down her arms," said Aiko stepping closer. The doctor's hands glowed green with chakra.

Ino stopped an arm's length away from her. Sakura tried to buck and thrash and attack the two women, but with her chakra sealed and her legs chained, it was impossible to get close enough to land a blow.

Ino flash stepped to kneel down at her shoulders and held down her arms. Sakura struggled and tried to push the other girl off, screaming, "Ino, what are you doing? Snap out of it! Why are you helping her? She's the enemy!"

Aiko brushed her hair out of her eyes and knelt down beside Sakura's side delicately and ran her hands over Sakura's abdomen. Her flat dark eyes gleamed triumphantly. "Wow, even the Uzumaki's swimmers are fast," said Aiko with a smirk. "Lucky for us you're already carrying an Uzumaki. I'll take you down from those restraints when I come back."

Sakura gaped at her. "What do you mean?"

Aiko tweaked her nose. "The pink potion was a fertility drug, sweetheart. You're having Naruto's baby. Congratulations."

"I'm what?" Sakura gaped.

"Pregnant. P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T."

Sakura glanced at Chika's form still in the corner. "What about—"

Aiko rose up from where she knelt beside the girl. She went over to where Chika was sprawled on the ground unconscious.

"She's two weeks along with a Senju," said the ROOT commander.

Aiko rolled Chika onto her back and checked the other woman's pulse. She took out a weird looking scroll from pouch around her hips. She set it over Chika's abdomen and activated it. Chika shuddered but didn't wake up.

"Don't mind me. Just taking a chakra sample," Aiko chirped. "Gotta run some tests."

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and wouldn't meet Sakura's eyes. Sakura looked up at her in horror. "And Ino—"

Aiko crossed to the other side of the room. She put a hand on Ino's shoulder and grinned viciously. "She's eighteen weeks along with three Uchiha."

Aiko pinched Ino's cheeks and Ino glared back. "Watch our prisoners," said SPIDER commanded to Ino. "Don't let them escape."

"Can I tell them?"

"Go for it. You three aren't going anywhere."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sakura sat at the counter of the flower shop, playing solitaire. "Back again?" she wondered._

_Ino closed the door. "I wanted to check in and see how you're doing. I'm sorry it's so quiet."_

_Sakura sighed and asked, "When are you going to release me then?"_

_Ino smiled uneasily. "When this is all over."_

_Sakura frowned. "Is it ever going to be over?"_

_The blonde girl merely shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." Glancing around the room, Ino remarked, "I'm surprised that Shikamaru hasn't come to visit."_

_"Shikamaru's here too? Where is he?" wondered Sakura._

_Ino glanced towards the door. "I put him on his favorite cloud watching hill."_

_Sakura pouted. "So he's allowed to wander around and I'm not?" _

_"The door's unlocked," Ino offered._

_Sakura blinked in surprise. "It is?"_

_"Yes," said Ino._

_Sakura put the Queen of Hearts down on the King of Hearts. "What if I get lost? How does—"_

_Ino interrupted her, "I've made it look like Konoha; though there wouldn't be anyone around expect for the other consciousnesses that I have stored in my mind. So you can wander around if you'd like. Just stay away from the T&I department. That's where I keep the prisoners. There are some dangerous consciousnesses locked up there. I don't want you to get hurt."_


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty-Three**

"The endgame is an arena in which miraculous escapes are not uncommon." - Leonid Shamkovich

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke waited in the other room while Hinata dressed herself before she was going to help him into his kimono. He used a jutsu to lengthen his hair, so it hung down to his collar bone. He had shaved his face carefully to avoid showing too much stubble. In a shapeless kimono, the Yakuza wouldn't be able to tell that he was in fact a man.

Instead of a kimono slip that was sometimes worn under kimonos for modesty and comfort, Sasuke and Hinata were going to wear their ANBU fatigues. They wouldn't be seen by their hosts, but they would offer ease of motion if they needed to escape fast. Shinju and Takeshi were infiltrating the Yakuza palace, doing recon while Sasuke and Hinata offered a distraction.

Hinata walked in finally, dressed in her kimono. With her hair twisted into a simple but elegant style and her lips painted with a crimson stain, he thought she looked like a princess. She seemed to glide over to him, smooth and elegant, like silk over a hidden blade.

Her kimono was lavender color with several cranes in flight moving up the left side of the cloth. Her obi was crimson and expertly tied. It served to draw emphasis to her crimson lips.

She walked over to him and picked up the navy yukata that was folded on the ground in front of him. She opened it up and walked behind him to help him slip his arms into the sleeves. She walked around to stand in front of him.

She nodded in approval. "I hoped that it would be long enough."

She stood in front of him, the very model of professional elegance. Taking the two pieces of fabric that were open in the front, she crossed them over his body once and then again to get the correct length of the sides. She held the one side by pressing it against his waist with one hand.

"Hold that," she said pressing her hand against his hip to keep the fabric in place.

He did as he was bid as she picked up one of the soft ties, the koshihimo, and wrapped it around his waist to keep the yukata at the correct length. She folded the tie in on itself and then stepped back to admire her handiwork. She stepped forward and pulled the top of his yukata back and forth to fix the collar.

Picking up a second soft tie, she tied this above his waist to keep the nice v-neck of the yukata in place. She stood in front of him, sliding her hands around his back as she fixed it in the back. Taking the belt, the datejime, she tied it over the soft tie, crossing it in the back and tucking it in the front. He was very aware of the soft curves of her body pressed up against the plane of his chest.

Would she be upset if he pulled her into his arms and kissed her? Would it smudge the crimson stain on her tempting lips?

She took the obi, a green piece of fabric and folded a piece of it before wrapping it around his waist and folding and - Kami, he had no idea what she was doing. Making a bow? He'd watched his mother do it a couple times before.

Hinata put some white powder on her face and painted his lips and then they were ready for their performance. She handed him his fan.

"Are you ready?"

He took her hand and kissed the pulse point on her wrist. Looking up at her, he whispered, "Yes."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. He was about to close his lips over hers when she put a hand to his mouth. "The lipstain," she murmured.

He looked deeply into her eyes. "When this is all over, I think I want to marry you, Hyuga Hinata."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Sasuke?"

The door to their room opened. Sasuke moved his hands away from her and she made it look like she was straightening his obi. The servant bowed in front of them. Hinata bowed back and then the pair of them shuffled over to the room for their dance.

The yukata was tight around his legs, so he had to shuffle like Hinata to the main room where they would be performing the dance for the Yakuza family. He felt a little silly; Hinata looked beautiful and elegant while she did it.

The rice paper door was slid open by one of the servants and the two ANBU agents in disguise went to stand at the front of the room. The family hadn't arrived yet. That was just as well. The only other people in the room were three musicians tuning their instruments.

One man held a banjo-like lute in his hands, tuning the strings. There was a woman holding an angled harp, similarly tuning. The other man had a bamboo flute.

This was their opportunity to determine who the Yakuza family was and if they had any involvement with ROOT. The T&I department had been working for months to try to determine the identities of the mysterious POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON. Maybe he and Hinata would be able to offer some insight into their identities or the Yakuza's involvement with Danzo's organization.

The musicians started playing a haunting melody on their instruments and the back doors to the room slid open and the family walked inside. They were all dressed formally, but they wore masks, ROOT masks. They were surrounded and outnumbered. Hinata went rigid next to him.

There were so many and they filtered into the room in threes. First there was BAT and MAGPIE leading a child with a BABOON mask. Then COYOTE and SCORPION and a toddler in a MONGOOSE mask. He couldn't tell if the adults were men or women from the shapeless yukata they wore. Next was TOAD and VULTURE. A PIRANHA mask hung from VULTURE's waist for the blue skinned baby nursed at her breast. Three children followed after. They couldn't have been much older than four or five. They were MANTIS, BUZZARD, and JACKAL. Then VIXEN, RAT, and CHAMELEON walked into the room.

Sasuke took a shuddering breath as the sixth group entered the room. It was them. It was POSSUM, SPIDER, and DRAGON.

VULTURE cleared her throat and the children lined up in three pairs to followed her out of the room: BABOON, LOCUST, SCORPION, MANTIS, BUZZARD, and JACKAL.

He and Hinata were still hopelessly outnumbered: two against ten. The worst part - he was wearing a dress.

The man in the DRAGON mask untied it from his face and smirked at them. "Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata for you, POSSUM, as promised."

"Watanabe Shinju, you bastard!" Sasuke yelled when he saw the face of their ANBU captain.

The ROOT agent wearing the RAT mask removed it and said, "Surprise."

"Sugawara Takeshi?" gasped Hinata seeing the face of their other teammate.

The woman in the SPIDER mask removed it and smiled. Sasuke didn't recognize the brown eyed woman with the curly blonde hair. "Thank you, DRAGON. You've done excellent work. You can enjoy her now. She's your mark after all."

Hinata took a step back in horror.

"It was you all along?" gasped Sasuke. "Did you kill him then, Shinju? Did you kill Kenta?"

The man in the POSSUM mask chuckled before untying it. The familiar green hair and eyes of his old captain Kenta were revealed. "Yakuza Kenta," the man said, "Yukage and leader of ROOT. Nice to see you again, Sasuke."

"But…but you're dead," whispered Sasuke.

Kenta smirked. "I was playing possum."

* * *

**Interlude**

_He took the swords out of her hands and threw them to the side along with his sword. She looked at him curiously. She thought that they were supposed to be practicing her kenjutsu? How could she do that without her sword?_

_"Sas—" she began._

_He cut in before she could form a question, "We've only been practicing armed combat up to this point but we also should practice unarmed combat."_

_The Hyuga girl crossed her arms over her chest. "I have my gentle fist technique. I'm very good at unarmed combat."_

_"What about when your chakra's sealed? If your chakra's been sealed after you're captured, you'd be very vulnerable against enemy ninja."_

_She took up a stance. "You want me to fight without using any chakra?"_

_"Yes."_

_She ran at him; he activated his Sharingan. She was focusing on not using any chakra, but some still was being channeled to her feet and muscles instinctively. He dodged her first blow and then dealt a punch to her stomach which had her jumping back and clutching her stomach. She'd instinctively channeled chakra to her stomach right before he landed his punch to cushion the blow._

_"This isn't any good," Sasuke said with a frown. "You're still using chakra."_

_"I'm trying not to," she asserted. _

_He shook his head. "Some of it is instinctive, you can't help it. I'm going to seal your chakra so that you can't use any. That'll be a better test for you. I don't want you to be able to enhance your speed or cushion blows with your chakra. This'll be better practice."_

_She stood in front of him apprehensively as he used the ANBU chakra seal on her. It was typically only used for prisoners. She gasped out in pain as the violent scarlet seals burned across her flesh liked a brand. She fell to the ground panting as her chakra was sealed away. _

_"Okay," said Sasuke, slipping into a taijutsu stance. "Let's try this again."_

_Sweat beaded on her brow as she stood up and slid into a similar stance. She was panting already. Having one's chakra sealed away was usually a painful process; though having it unsealed didn't hurt too much. She ran at him noticeably slower than before without the aid of her chakra. It was almost like watching a battle in slow motion._

_He dodged her blow. She twisted out of the way of his feint but was thrown across the clearing as he landed the second blow. She rose unsteadily to her feet but he was already there._

_After an unsatisfying half hour of landing blow after blow on the girl, he stood back. She hadn't landed a single blow. This was worrisome. She would be in deep trouble if she was captured and her chakra sealed. He had hoped he wouldn't have to tell her about the last resort offered to ANBU behind enemy lines with no chance of escape or rescue._

_He took a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here," he said._

_"What's this?" she wondered._

_"All ANBU agents are provided with cyanide pills in the event of capture."_

_She looked up at him in horror. "If I'm captured, I'm supposed to kill myself?"_

_He nodded. "As a last resort. If you can't escape and help isn't coming, it's an escape available for you."_

_She looked down at the box. "Where do I keep it?"_

_Sasuke plucked the box from her hand, and picked up a little white thing that looked like a tooth. "Other people seal them into their teeth and then unseal them with chakra when they're captured, but that sort of defeats the purpose if you're captured and your chakra sealed."_

_"Oh," Hinata said._

_Sasuke held the little while thing in his hands and said, "This is a fake tooth. It's pretty strong, but if you bite down hard enough on it, you'll break the container and can access the pill and swallow it."_

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

They sealed her chakra, just like Sasuke said they would if she was ever captured. Captain Shinju grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the room. She met Sasuke's eyes over the crowd in the main room. POSSUM was grinning at the last Uchiha widely. What was going to happen to Sasuke?

"I've been looking forward to this," DRAGON said as he dragged her down the hall.

"Are you going to rape me?" she asked.

"Again and again," laughed Shinju. He pushed her against the wall and squeezed her breasts through her yukata. "This is the last part of my mission. I'll get to enjoy you over and over until I tire of you. You'll provide ROOT with dozen of children with the Byakugan."

"What?"

His hands were rough on her breasts. "We're calling it OPERATION KUNOICHI, stealing bloodlines and kekkei genkai of Konoha. You're the last one."

Tears pricked her eyes. She struggled against him but her chakra was sealed and she couldn't land a single blow. It was just like when she had practiced fighting without chakra with Sasuke. Shinju just laughed, finding the whole situation very amusing.

"What's going to happen to Sasuke?" Hinata wondered. "If you kill him, you'll lose the Sharingan forever."

DRAGON grabbed her wrist again and dragged her down the hall again. "Why do you care? Do you love him?"

Hinata stuttered, "I...I do."

DRAGON laughed manically. They'd finally arrived at their destination. He opened the room and pushed her inside. She backed away from him, trying to think of a plan. She needed to figure out a way to gain the upper hand.

"I'll kill myself."

"We'll just get another Hyuga. It won't be hard. Besides that little cyanide pill won't work. We've sealed your chakra, you won't be able access it."

The cyanide pill!

"What are you going to do with Sasuke? Where've you taken him?"

DRAGON closed the door and rolled his eyes. "He's in the dungeons downstairs. We've already got someone pregnant with Uchiha Itachi's kids, so you don't need to worry about losing the Sharingan. It's your friend Yamanaka Ino. Isn't that a riot?"

"So you're going to kill him?"

"We're going to harvest his eyes first. POSSUM wants his own set of Sharingan eyes. SPIDER's going to scrub in and get started after she's done with something else."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Hinata wondered.

"Well you're not going anywhere, are you, Hinata?" he said triumphantly.

He stalked over to her and gripped her arms tightly. He ripped off the obi and stripped the yukata from her shoulders. She bit down hard on the fake tooth, releasing the cyanide pill from its container.

"Wait," she said.

He rolled his eyes at her. "What?"

She ran her hands up his chest.

This was horrifying.

Glanced up at him shyly, she said, "I won't struggle if you promise to be gentle. It's my first time. It'll hurt less if I don't struggle."

He snorted. "I don't care if it's going to hurt."

She wasn't surprised. What a jerk.

Hinata stood up on her tiptoes. "Can't I kiss you before we have sex?" she asked, eyes gleaming.

He smirked. "Be my guess."

She rolled the cyanide pill under her tongue and placed her lips lightly over his. Tracing the seam of his lips with her tongue, he opened his mouth under hers. She pushed the pill into his mouth and threw her hands up to cover his mouth and nose to make him swallow it.

He tried to push her away, but she clung on desperately. He tried to force her away so he could throw the pill up, but she wouldn't let go. When she finally did let go, it was too late. The cyanide was already running through his system.

"You bitch!" he yelled hoarsely. "What have you done?"

"Unseal my chakra," she said. "I have a secret Hyuga technique that can save you."

Coughing, he fell to his knees. "You're lying!"

She stepped closer. "Are you willing to risk your life to find out?"

He glared coldly at her. Concentrating chakra to his fingertips, she recognized the farmilar seals of the Five Element Unsealing Jutsu burning on his fingers. She stepped closer. He pressed them against her stomach.

She felt the seal unfurling as her chakra was released.

"Hinata," he pleaded.

She stepped away from him and shook her head. "Goodbye, Shinju."

He coughed weakly before collapsing onto his back.

She backed up until she reached the door and then slid down against it in shock. Her heart was still pounding from the adrenaline. Clutching her knees to her chest, she tried to calm herself down.

She'd just killed her ANBU captain; she'd just killed DRAGON.

She activated her Byakugan and looked around the house. Sasuke was down in one of the basement dungeons just like Shinju had said. She blinked in surprise. Was that Ino's and Sakura's chakra in the dungeons too?

She rose unsteadily to her feet. With her Byakugan, she made careful note of the stairs and passageways and other chakra signatures in the house.

She could do this; she could save them.

She glanced back at Shinju one last time. There wasn't any chakra in his system. He wasn't playing possum; he was well and truly dead.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Here's the ItaIno scene that everyone's been waiting for. I'm sorry to be disappointing all my ShikaIno fans, but I promise that there will be ShikaIno in the next chapter! **

**In other news, the sequel has become a trilogy, lol, as I've been plotting things out. The second and third parts are tentatively named _The King_ and _The Checkmate_. Pairings: ShikaIno, SasuHina, NaruSaku, KakaAnko, YamaChika, a InoSasuHina love triangle, and a SasuHinaKiba love triangle. I just added in the last one; I love me some KibaHina. ;-)  
**

**I've also added three companion pieces, which are NaruSaku, SasuHina, and ItaIno excerpts from this story all together in one place: _Castling, Boden's Mate,_ and _The Queen's Gambit_ respectively. Nothing new, just reorganized. They'll be 5 chapters each.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Four **

"Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against his will, whose notion of Beauty always differs from yours and whose means (strength, imagination, technique) are often too limited to help you effectively! What torment, to have your thinking and your fantasy tied down by another person!" - Alexander Alekhine

* * *

**Interlude**

_The next day she sensed him inside one of the smaller pools at the onsen. It was remote, in one of the smaller rooms floating above the lagoon. He was alone, which was a blessing for her. She could try to corner him. He had mentioned last night that his teammate had left the onsen. That would make her life easier if she didn't need to worry about Hoshigaki Kisame._

_Jutsu wasn't going to work. As soon as she started weaving handsigns, he'd put a stop to it. She'd have to seduce him the old fashioned way._

_Damn._

_She wrapped one of the cloth robes around herself; it hit her about mid-thigh. She tip toed down the hall towards the room, trying to calm her breathing. How had he made her so easily last night?_

"I wasn't born yesterday. I can recognize a kunoichi on an infiltration mission as well as anyone. So what are you after then? The bounty or the kekkei genkai? … Did you think that I would be so easily seduced? You're way in over your head, Yamanaka. I'll give you one chance to back off. Meddle with me after that and you'll be sorry."

_How many other kunoichi had he encountered doing the same thing? Kami, she was in over her head just as he said. He could have killed her yesterday. He could have killed her so easily. Broke her neck, tied a weight around her ankles, and tossed into the lagoon. Kami, it would've been easy for him._

_Instead he broke her wrist and threatened her. What did he mean by that? Was it supposed to be a kindness? He could have killed her. Why did he let her go?_

"You're not a member of ROOT. You don't have the tattoo on your tongue. Why did Danzo choose you? You're beautiful to be sure, but there must have been another reason. Does he want another pair of Shisui's eyes? His mother was a woman from the Yamanaka clan."

_Kami, the whole conversation had been dizzying. It had been like talking with Shikamaru when he was in one of his smartass moods. Naturally, she knew that Shikamaru was a genius and could think like twenty moves ahead of her, but he didn't rub it in her face very often. When they were having a spat, he'd usually go easy on her. It was only when she'd pushed and goaded and really driven him up the wall that he would unleash his crazy intellect. When that happened, he'd just run rings around her as Itachi had last night._

_Itachi must be another one of those annoying strategic geniuses. Kami, wasn't one enough!_

_Last night it had been just like arguing with Shikamaru when he was being a smartass. Itachi had thrown one thing after another at her that he couldn't possibly have deduced so easily but he had. He'd read her so easily, as Shikamaru was always able to. It was astounding._

_She allowed herself a small smile. She had experience arguing with Shikamaru, years of experience to be exact. When he was actually trying, he'd almost always win. However, she'd learned a couple tricks over the years. She knew a technique or two that stopped Shikamaru in his tracks. They might work on Itachi too._

_She finally reached the pool. She could sense his chakra inside. It wasn't a shadow clone. She didn't sense any duplicate chakra in or around the onsen. She pulled back the rice paper door and stepped inside._

_It was time to try her first technique for winning an argument against a strategic genius._

_The old take off your clothes and get wet method. Always worked like a charm on Shikamaru. She usually didn't strip down completely in front of Shikamaru, but if she was losing an argument on a mission she would get him alone and take the argument to a stream or a lake under the pretense of cleaning dishes or clothes._

_She'd strip down to her underwear and then find some excuse to submerge herself completely in the water. When she walked towards Shikamaru dripping wet with her nipples hard from the cold water, he'd give up immediately on the argument._

_Worked like a charm. _

_This technique was almost too easy at an onsen. Itachi was sitting against the far side of the small pool, with his arms resting on the cool concrete. The pool was heated, so there was a light flush to his skin. He'd tied his long hair up, but his dark bangs stuck to the sides of his face. His eyes were closed. _

_He opened them slowly as she walked in._

_"Yamanaka Ino," he said. His voice was huskier perhaps than he intended._

_She dropped the robe at her feet and stared him in the eyes. His dark eyes widened briefly for a moment before completing a slow perusal of her naked body. _

_"Uchiha Itachi," she replied._

_She walked towards him and into the warm water of the pool. She submerged herself and then sat down on the opposite side of the pool. She needed a second to collect herself. She was shivering even against the warm water. She couldn't let him know scared she was._

_"I see that you haven't left Raguun," Itachi said._

_She grinned. "I've already pre-paid for the room for a week. It would be a shame to waste it."_

_The corner of his lips curled up in something resembling a smile. "They say that you're not supposed to make your decisions based on sunk costs, Ino."_

_Sunk costs, interesting. She could play off this. She rose to her feet, taking notice of the way his eyes tracked the drops of water sliding between her bare breasts. She waded towards him. _

_"What's a sunk cost?" she wondered, coming closer. _

_He wet his lips and had to clear his throat before saying, "A past cost that's already been incurred that you can't recover. For example, the fact you've already paid for your room. That shouldn't influence your decision to stay." _

_She was almost upon him. It was time to try her second technique for winning an argument against a strategic genius._

_The old get too close method. Always worked like a charm on Shikamaru. She wasn't usually completely naked when she did this as she was now, but if she was losing an argument with Shikamaru and there wasn't a source of water nearby, this was the next best technique. _

_She'd get really close to him and press her body against his, touch his arms and chest, cling onto him. When her body was pressed up against his, and she was whispering her arguments quietly in his ear, he'd give up almost immediately._

_Worked like a charm._

_Itachi hadn't made any move to stop her from getting closer, so she decided to press her luck. She slid closer to him and he stayed still as a statue. A little smirk bloomed on her face as she straddled him, moving her knees to either side of his hips. Still, he didn't move. She leaned closer._

_"That's true," she said, tracing the tip of his ear with her tongue. "I shouldn't let my past influence what I decide to do with my future."_

_He was silent, staring at her intently. Yet he didn't push her away. She ran her hands up his chest and settled down in his lap. She could feel him already hard against her thigh. She went in for the kill. _

_"But you're letting the past decide what you're doing with your future aren't you, Itachi?" she whispered, nipping at the tip of his ear teasingly._

_Something dark flickered across his eyes before he pulled her towards him and claimed her mouth in a furious kiss._

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

Shackled to the wall, Sakura was unable to do anything except glare at her. She didn't blame her. She wanted to glare at herself too. How had everything unraveled so fast? Everyone she loved and everything she cared about had been slowly ripped from her for the last couple months. It was disorienting to finally have the rug pulled out from under her as well.

ROOT's dastardly deeds she could rise above. SPIDER's taunts and DRAGON's lascivious words and touches only further motivated her to destroy them. Ibiki's and Yamato's disappointed stares merely drove her to be stronger, to break the hold of the genjutsu. The Five Kage's disgust stung. Sabaku no Temari's eyes had narrowed in disgust when Ino's secret was revealed. Part of her respected the other kunoichi and the other part seethed with jealousy. The kage all believed her to be a black widow and a scarlet woman. She would just have to show them otherwise.

And now her best friend hated her too.

She had feared Sakura's reaction to her deception. What would Sakura say when Ino told her how she'd been playing around in her mind and stealing memories from her? She would have to tell her the truth. Sakura deserved that at least after all that had been done to her.

There was one reaction that was much worse than Sakura's displeasure.

Shikamaru's cold eyes and colder words still haunted her. _That's where you're wrong, Ino. I never plan to talk to you again._ Kami, she wanted to curl up and die when she saw that unfamiliar expression on his face. He was slipping away from her. She had wanted to rush into his arms and beg for his forgiveness, but she wasn't worthy of it.

She walked over to the other prisoner in the cell. She had always looked up to Yamanaka Chika as an older sister. Chika and Sakura didn't deserve to be used in ROOT's schemes like this. It simply wasn't fair. Ino had realized that SPIDER had been tampering with Sakura and had taken the little pink fertility potion from her friend. She thought she had foiled their plans. She should have paid closer attention.

Ino hadn't even noticed that Chika was a target.

Ino was so busy trying to keep her secrets that she allowed her friends to be used as brood mares for ROOT. It was insulting enough to be used like this; how could she have let the same thing happen to her friends? She should have paid more attention to them and less attention to stealing Sakura and Shikamaru's memories and lavishing in Shikamaru's devotion. Now she'd lost him as well.

"Leave her alone!" Sakura yelled.

Ino looked back her friend. Ino's face was carefully blank when she answered, "I'm just checking to make sure that she's okay."

Sakura snarled, "Haven't you done enough?"

Brushing away the hair from the other woman's face, Ino ran hands imbued with healing chakra over the ANBU captain. There was a drug in the other woman's system. It resembled a quick acting tranquilizer that she had distilled from chamomile. What else had ROOT been pillaging from her stores of plant based senbon toxins? Like Sakura, Chika's chakra had been sealed off. From what she could gather, the seal was identical in composition to the one that ANBU and T&I used on prisoners. ROOT must have stolen the sealing technique.

Ino had only ever practiced sealing and unsealing techniques on inmates at T&I. Of the four times she'd done it, the first two attempts had failed, but she'd done it correctly in the most recent two times. She was relatively confident that she could do it successfully here on Sakura and Chika.

She glanced up at Sakura as she channeled chakra to her hands in a five elements unsealing jutsu, calmly remarking, "I'm going to undo Chika's chakra seal. Please don't attack me while I'm doing it. I might hurt her accidentally if you do."

Sakura struggled against the shackles. She couldn't summon her monster strength with her chakra sealed away as it was. That must have been infuriating for the pink haired student of Tsunade.

Sakura acquiesced, though her expression was not at all accommodating.

Ino sighed and focused on the technique. It was successful. Chika's chakra was unsealed. Good.

Turning to the pink haired medical ninja watching her like a hawk, she asked, "Will you let me do the same for you?"

"Let me out of the chains and then I'll decide," spat the pink haired girl.

Ino wandered over to her friend. She knew how this was going to end. She only hoped that Sakura wouldn't hurt her too badly.

"You wouldn't hit a pregnant woman would you?" asked Ino carefully as she stopped in front of her friend.

Sakura glared. "I could say the same to you."

Ino held her hands up. "I don't want to hurt you."

Sakura considered her for a full minute, before saying, "I won't hurt you. But I'm not doing this for you, Ino; I'm doing it for the babies."

Channeling chakra to her hands, Ino ripped the fetters out of the wall. Sakura twisted around to put her feet back on the ground. Closing her eyes and making the five kanji for the five elements, Ino undid the chakra seal on Sakura's chest. Sakura gasped as the seal was taken off.

"What are you trying to accomplish, Ino?" screeched Sakura. "Why are you working with them? What the hell have you done? How are you pregnant with Sasuke's baby? For eighteen weeks!?"

The other prisoner's green eyes blinked open and she looked up at the other woman confusedly. "Ino? Sakura? What's happened? Where are we?"

"We've been taken by ROOT," began Ino.

"Ino's one of them!" Sakura interjected.

A second later, Chika had flash stepped across the room and had Ino against the wall by her throat. "What does she mean by that, Ino?"

Sakura stood up and walked over. The chains clanked behind her from where they were still attached to her ankles. She ripped the fetters off with her monster strength.

"The ROOT agent SPIDER asked Ino to watch us and make sure that we didn't escape," Sakura explained.

"Why are we here, Ino?" asked Chika. "Why are you working with them?"

"SPIDER is Aiko Fujii, the doctor at the hospital. She came to my house and knocked me out," said Sakura. "Did she do the same to you?"

"Aiko?" wondered Chika. Her brows furrowed. "The OB/GYN at the hospital was a ROOT agent? She wasn't—shit!"

Ino choked against her cousin's hold. Sakura nodded sadly. "Yeah, we're part of the plan. They want our babies."

Chika's grip tightened on Ino. "I had sensed something strange with my chakra. I was going to take a home pregnancy test this week."

"Be careful with her," said Sakura. "She's pregnant too."

Chika released her and Ino slid down the wall gasping for breath. She rubbed a hand over her bruised neck. She glanced up at the two women. She had unsealed their chakra. Would they believe her story and help her break the genjutsu or would they squeeze the life out of her for real this time?

"I can explain," Ino began.

"You'd better," snarled Sakura.

Ino held up her hands in front of the other two. "It's a long story. What don't you two sit down?"

"I'll stand," said Sakura.

Ino glanced at Chika who merely raised an eyebrow at her cousin. Ino took a deep breath and began the story. "I was summoned to Danzo's office four and a half months ago. He was commissioning the first phase of OPERATION KUNOICHI. Naturally, he wouldn't take no for an answer when I said that I wouldn't complete OPERATION BLOODY PINWHEEL for him. He wanted me to seduce Uchiha Itachi and bear his child. I refused, so he gloated a little bit and then used his Sharingan eyes to cast a genjutsu on me so I would be forced to obey him and the ROOT commanders."

Chika raised an eyebrow. "He used the Kotoamatsukami on you?"

"Yes."

"That's unfortunate," muttered Chika. "That's supposed to be impossible to break."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Naruto told me about Danzo's Sharingan eye and what it can do. That jutsu was strong enough to break Uchiha Itachi out the Edo Tensei's control during the Shinobi World War."

"OPERATION KUNOICHI," said Chika. "We're part of that too?"

Ino nodded. "OPERATION CHERRY BLOSSOM is tricking Sakura into having Naruto's baby and then stealing her away to have the baby at a ROOT base. OPERATION RUBY THROAT is the same thing for you, Chika."

Chika's eyes widened. "They know that my ANBU codename is HUMMINGBIRD?"

"So what have you been doing for them?" asked Sakura.

Ino closed her eyes. "I've been a mole in T&I for them. They were planning to keep me in there as long as they could at least until people noticed my pregnancy."

"You're eighteen weeks? How has no one noticed?" Chika wondered. "Is Shikamaru in on it too? He must have noticed."

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. "One of the commands ROOT gave me is to ensure that no one suspects that I'm having a baby. SPIDER wanted to get the three of us out of Konoha before anyone realized that we were pregnant. ROOT didn't want loose ends, didn't want Konoha looking for our children. So I've been giving Sakura and Shikamaru mind wipes to cover my tracks."

"You've been using a Yamanaka kinjutsu on your best friend and husband? Ino, how could you?" said Chika.

Sakura looked at the Yamanaka kunoichi curiously. "What do you mean mindwipe?"

Chika turned to Sakura. "Not many ninjas from the Yamanaka can perform the technique. Only the head of the clan and his heir are taught it. It's something that we use against our enemies. Using the mindwipe jutsu, Ino can go into your mind and modify or delete certain memories and trains of thought. All those memories are lost forever."

Sakura looked pained. "Ino, you didn't?"

Ino looked her best friend in the eye. It was painful to see the betrayal on Sakura's face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to."

Sakura considered her. "It's just another crime that ROOT's committed against you, Ino."

For the first time all day, Ino felt a ray of sunlight break through the dark clouds following her everywhere. She gave her friend a small smile. "They're not lost. I've saved them inside my mind. If you can ever trust me again, I'd like to give them back to you."

"When this is all over maybe," said Sakura with a tight smile.

Ino grinned, suddenly feeling miles better. "While we've been here, Konoha's been working. They know about OPERATION KUNOICHI and the identities and location of ROOT. They'll be coming to save you."

"And I assume that you've told all this to ROOT?" Chika asked pointedly.

Ino looked down at her hands. "They questioned me after we arrived. They know everything that I do."

"We need to get out of here. They might be setting a trap for the others," said Chika.

Sakura frowned at Ino. "SPIDER commanded you to make sure we don't escape. Do we have to knock you out before we escape?"

Ino shook her head. "I have a better idea. I want you both to help me break the Kotoamatsukami."

"I thought you said it was the most powerful genjutsu in the world. You said it was unbreakable," said Sakura.

"Not against two pissed off Yamanaka kunoichi and Tsunade's apprentice," Chika cheered. "Aiko made a fatal mistake locking us up together."

Ino beamed at them. "You'll help me then?"

Sakura nodded. "Just tell me what to do."

Ino sat down cross legged on the floor and waved a hand at them to sit down. "We're going to do a mindwalk on me."

Sakura sat down and scooted closer. "I don't know how to do a mindwalk."

Chika sat down on Ino's side and took one of her hands. "Ino and I will pull you into it. Hold Ino's hand and gently channel your chakra into her, like you do during a chakra transfer."

Sakura took Ino's hand and did as Chika directed. Ino nodded in approval.

"Now hold my hand too," said Chika holding out her other hand.

Sakura took Chika's hand and asked, "Do I channel chakra into you too?"

"No, just into Ino. She's the one that needs it to break the genjutsu. Our minds and chakra will be helping her too," Chika said.

"I'm going to get started guys. Don't resist me, Sakura. I'm going to pull you into my mindscape," said Ino.

"Er, okay," said Sakura.

Ino focused on accepting and molding the chakra that Sakura and Chika were giving her. With the extra chakra and the strength of their minds, she was confident that she would be able to break the Kotoamatsukami.

She pulled gently with her mind, dragging Sakura and Chika into her mindscape. She glanced up at the sign above the shop: YAMANAKA FLOWERS.

"Is this Konoha?" wondered Sakura.

Ino held the door open for them. "No, we're in my mindscape. It's modeled off Konoha."

Chika looked around in shock, "Kami, Ino, this is amazing. I've never seen one this complex before."

"Then you never got to see inside my father's mindscape. His was much more extensive; he had whole countries in his. I've only been able to make one village," said Ino stepping into the shop.

Sakura and Chika trailed after her. Ino smiled at the pink haired girl sitting at the counter. Other-Sakura didn't bother looking up when they came in. She was keenly focused on a card tower she was constructing.

"Yamanaka flowers," said other-Sakura behind the counter in a very bored voice.

"Kami, that's me!" Sakura gasped.

Other-Sakura nodded. "I'm the memories that Ino stole from us."

Sakura just gaped like a fish. "You're…we're…I'm…"

Ino put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Would you like the memories back now?"

Other-Sakura perked up. "Yes, please. It's so boring in here."

"Uh…I guess," Sakura stuttered. "Is it safe?"

"Perfectly safe," Ino said with a nod. "You just need to touch one another. Just a poke would be fine. Your consciousness will recognize itself and these memories that I separated will be put back into place within your real mind."

"I've never heard of that before," Chika whispered. "Are you sure, Ino?"

"Yes. I've done it before," Ino nodded.

Ino watched as the two Sakuras walked up to each other and joined hands. There was a bright flash of pink light and then other-Sakura disappeared back into her original mind.

Sakura staggered backwards and gasped, "Kami, I can remember now. That's so weird."

"It might be a little confusing at first," said Ino. "You'll have the original memories and the modified memories and any thoughts and memories of your consciousness while she was contained in my mind."

"That's so weird," Sakura echoed.

"Amazing," Chika breathed.

Ino nodded in approval while Sakura and Chika gaped at each other. "Ready to break the Kotoamatsukami folks?"

They followed her to the T&I dungeons. The other girls looked around. Chika had probably been down there before but she didn't think Sakura had ever been. She looked around. Where was Itachi? He was often standing guard by the gate to the cells.

He was gone today, but the gate was securely looked and the keys on the ring by the door.

She unlocked the gate and ushered the other girls inside. She opened the key ring and her fingers moved through the keys. She took out three and then left the others on the table. She locked the door behind them and dropped the first key into her pocket.

"You're locking us inside?" wondered Chika.

Ino nodded. "Us and the prisoner. We can't let her escape."

The other cells were empty, which was fortunate. The locked door at the end of the hallway was bolted and padlocked. It was deathly quiet inside. The air was wet and close so far underground. It smelled like dirt and mold and all sort of unpleasant things. The only sound was the monotonous sound of water dripping down the musty stone walls.

Shivers ran up and down her spine as Ino approached the door at the end of the hallway, her friends trailing behind her. She stopped in front of the locked door.

Next to her, Sakura whispered, "Is that where you're keeping Kotoamatsukami? Where are we?"

As soon as the words left Sakura's mouth, the metal door at the end of the hallway shook violently. The metal chains creaked and clinked together as the thing on the other side tried to force its way out.

Chika let out an ear-piercing scream in surprise.

Sakura put her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Shh, it's alright."

Ino took a shuddering breath. She took out the other two keys. "Be on your guard. This is the most dangerous prisoner that I've ever had to keep contained in my mind. When you open the door, I need to grab the prisoner and make sure she doesn't escape."

Ino took a step back and stepped into the cell nearest to the locked door. With the second key, she locked herself inside the cell.

Chika ran at the door to Ino's cell and tried to grab her. "Ino, what are you doing? Why are locking yourself in that cell? Let me in! Don't leave me alone with that thing!"

"It needs to be this way," Ino said. "You'll understand."

Sakura looked at her friend in fear.

Ino handed her the third key. "Sakura," she said. "Unlock the door and then throw that key in here with me."

Sakura turned pale. "So there's no escape. You're trapping us in here with it."

"It has to be this way."

"Are you…are you sacrificing us to it, Ino?" wondered Sakura.

Ino shook her head. She walked to the front of the cell and grabbed Sakura's hands in hers. "I'm not sacrificing you to her, silly. Behind that door is a piece that I tore out of my own mind, the piece that contains the Kotoamatsukami, the genjutsu that forces me to obey ROOT is behind that door. Do you understand now?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not even remotely."

"It's me behind that door," said Ino. "It's a piece of my mind, the piece with the Kotoamatsukami. I've kept it separated there. But I haven't been able to get rid of it. I've managed to lock it up, but that's all. I've tried before to erase her, but as soon as she touches me, the Kotoamatsukami is released into my mind again. Just like with you and that piece of your mind that I stole and contained here, Sakura. Remember?"

Sakura nodded. "So that's why you locked yourself up and are keeping all the keys in there? So the Kotoamatsukami can't touch you and be released?"

Ino nodded. "Yes. I've tried before to erase her before, but she grabs onto me and then is reincorporated. I've had to isolate and lock up Kotoamatsukami four different times now."

"So what are we supposed to do?" wondered Chika.

"Now I have the support of your minds and your chakra. While you restrain her, I'll work on erasing her. Above all, you need to make sure that she doesn't touch me."

Chika looked confused. "Then why can't we keep the key to her cell?"

Ino sighed. "When we tried that last time, she locked up my partner in her cell. Then both of us were trapped so I had to let her escape to free him."

"Oh," said Chika. "That makes sense."

"When I have all the keys in this cell with me, she has nowhere to go," Ino said backing against the wall of her cell. "Whenever you're ready."

Chika clenched her hands together and Sakura took out the key to the padlock. The pink haired medical ninja unlocked the padlock and threw the key into Ino's cell. The blonde stepped forward to pick up the key off the floor and then stood back against the far wall.

The metal door banged and shuddered as the thing inside struggled against it. Sakura and Chika backed away from it, taking taijutsu stances as they waited for it to emerge. There was an unearthly screech and then the door finally banged open.

Ino shivered against the wall as the prisoner stepped into the hallway. Kotoamatsukami's long blonde hair was greasy and unkempt. Her lips turned up in a snarl. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror. But this woman's eyes weren't her familiar sky blue. They were crimson with a red pinwheel design.

"She has the Mangekyo Sharingan!" Sakura gasped, backing away.

"She's can't use it," Ino called. "It's only been cast _on_ her. She's more or less helpless."

"Great," Chika bit out.

"Ino," Kotoamatsukami grinned manically, running at the door to her cell.

Ino pressed farther back against the wall in fear as Kotoamatsukami tried to pry the chakra enforced steel apart. Her doppleganger's eerie crimson eyes glittered madly. Kotoamatsukami tried to reach in to grab Ino, but she was too far away from the gates of the cell.

Kotoamatsukami was like a mad dog. She howled and growled and snarled, waiting little else than to tear her captor Ino to pieces, to be incorporated back into her host.

Ino tried to focus her chakra on the Kotoamatsukami. The mad blonde woman wailed in agony as she could feel Ino trying to erase her. Kotoamatsukami ran for the front gate of the prison cells, hoping to escape. Sakura grabbed her as she ran back.

Chika grabbed Kotoamatsukami's other arm and they lifted the other girl off her feet and carried her back towards Ino.

"Let me go!" Kotoamatsukami screeched, struggling wildly against them.

Ino pulled her chakra, Sakura's chakra, and Chika's chakra together and worked against Kotoamatsukami. She would never have had enough chakra alone, but together they had enough to overwhelm the genjutsu and erase it completely from Ino's mind.

Sakura and Chika stared at the place where Kotoamatsukami had stood only minutes before and back at Ino panting in the cell.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked.

Ino panted and crawled weakly to the front of her cell. "Exhausted but fine. Let's get out of here. Hold hands."

The three women held hands again and Ino pulled them out of her mindscape.

Sakura let go of the hands and looked at Ino. "That wasn't too hard."

Ino laid on her back and put a hand to her belly. "Easy for you to say. I'm exhausted."

Chika went to the door. "Let's get out of here."

Sakura went to crouch next to Ino. "Are you alright? Do you need a couple minutes before we get out of here?"

Ino sat up slowly. "No, I'm good. Let's go."

Chika concentrated wind style chakra from the tips of her fingers and cut a hole into the bottom of the outside wall, large enough for them to escape out of. She wove a genjutsu so it wouldn't be as easily noticed. Poking her head into the hallway, Sakura almost got stepped on by two people in battered kimonos running towards them.

"Sasuke?" gasped out Sakura in shock. "Hinata?"

"What are you guys doing in ROOT's headquarters? I was surprised when Hinata said that she saw the three of you with her Byakugan," wondered Sasuke, crouching down next to the little door they'd cut in the wall.

"Let's get out of here," said Hinata. "Come on."

"Sasuke, I need to tell you something," hissed Sakura as she slid out of the hole in the wall.

"It can wait, Sakura," Sasuke said rolling his eyes and hurrying after Hinata.

* * *

**Interlude**

_She pulled him into her room, kissing him madly. He tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth as his hands fumbled with the tie to her robe. He slipped it off her shoulders and pulled her towards him once more. _

_She slipped his robe off his shoulders and guided him back towards the room where her futon lay unrolled on the floor. She swept her tongue into his mouth, teasing and caressing. She could feel the hard length of him pressing against her belly. Kami, how was that supposed to fit inside her?_

_His agile, long fingers glided along her skin, caressing and massaging. They slid down to her ass, lifting her up against his hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as he kneaded her ass, spreading her legs even wider around him._

_"Oh, Itachi," she moaned. _

_He carried her to the bed, kissing a line down her chest to her breasts. He kissed one of her erect nipples before taking the other one in his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, panting. _

_Kami, he was eliciting all these new and strange pleasures from her. She gripped him tightly in her arms and with her legs, clinging desperately. She'd never felt like this before. The pleasure was maddening, all consuming. She felt dizzy and flushed and this strange need was blossoming deeply within her, this strange need to be filled by something she didn't quite understand. _

_He slipped one finger inside her and she gasped out in surprise. His tongue swirled around her nipple, nipping occasionally, while his clever finger caressed her from the inside. _

_"Oh, Kami!" she keened. "Oh, Kami, don't stop!"_

_He rested her down in the middle of the bed and hovered over her. She gasped and moaned as his finger teased and stroked and thrust inside her. Her legs twitched madly from where they were sprawled out on either side of his hips. He slipped a second finger inside her, spreading her wider._

_"Oh, Itachi!" she gasped._

_His clever fingers found a little nub inside of her and she panted and moaned in surprise. Oh, Kami, that was sinful. He went at the nub with his fingers. She moaned and panted. She could feel the pressure building and building until it was too much and she went into supernova. She screamed out in ecstasy as black spots danced in front of her eyes. She arched off the bed, bucking her hips against his hand instinctively. _

_"Wow," she said. _

_He pulled his fingers out of her and put them to his lips. They were sticky and wet. She moaned as she watched him suck her arousal off his fingers. _

_He slid up her body to kiss her again. She could taste herself on his tongue. He settled back down against her. She could feel him hard and hot and thick against her moist folds. _

_Oh, Kami, she wasn't sure if she was ready for this._

_"I've never done this before," she gasped against his mouth._

_He chuckled into her ear. "Never seduced an S-Rank missing nin in an onsen?"_

_"No," she breathed, "I've never had sex before."_

_He pulled back from her in surprise. "You're a virgin?"_

_She nodded dumbly._

_He smoothed his palm over her cheek. "So am I."_

_"You are?" she wondered in surprise. _

_He nodded, running the pad of his thumb over her lips._

_"But you're really good at this," she wondered._

_He chuckled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You're not so bad yourself, Ino."_

_She accepted his kiss, running her hands down his back. She could feel him right at her entrance. It was too late to stop now. "Kami," she moaned._

_He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "I can wear someone else's face if that'll make it easier for you. I'm sure that you didn't want your first time to be with a man like me."_

_He moved back to look her in the eyes. She gazed at him in surprise. "You'd do that for me?"_

_He looked at her, smiling tenderly. "If that's what you want, Ino, of course."_

_Her eyes fluttered madly as she tried to keep the tears from dripping down her face. One escaped and he wiped it away with his thumb. "That's alright," she said finally, moving her hips against his. "I want it to be you, Itachi."_

_"Are you sure?" he asked moving his hands to hers._

_She gripped his hands tightly in hers. "Yes. I want it to be you, Itachi," she repeated._

_He kissed her on the forehead. He moved slowly into her and she winced at the uncomfortable sensation of being stretched and penetrated so. He closed his eyes and moaned at the sensation. She let out a sob of pain as she felt him tearing something inside her. _

_He kissed her closed eyelids, her chin, her cheekbones, whispering, "Are you okay? Let me know if I'm hurting you, if it's uncomfortable."_

_She gripped his hands, trying to keep from crying. "It hurts," she said._

_He pulled out her slowly and kissed away the tears dripping down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, love," he whispered._

_She panted below him, "Don't stop, Itachi. We need to do this."_

_With a low moan, he slid into her again. It didn't hurt as much the second time, so she shifted against him, rocking her hips against his slowly. _

_"Kami, that's much better," she moaned._

_He pulled out and pushed into her again slowly. She rocked against him, wrapping her legs around his waist to allow him to slide deeper inside her._

_"Oh, Itachi," she gasped, "oh, Kami!"_

_He slipped out of her and gripped her hands tightly in his before penetrating her again. "Oh, Kami, Ino," he moaned. "You feel like heaven."_

_He pulled out and thrust into her again and again and again; she moved in time with his thrusts. He gripped her hands tightly in his and rained kisses on her face. _

_He gasped out her name as they climbed together to that mysterious height. They climbed and soared and danced together. It was beautiful and romantic and divine. They finally reached the pinnacle together and she arched off the bed screaming his name while he moaned hers, spilling his seed deep inside her._


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: Thank for all the lovely reviews! I'd like to thank Imsabbel for offering some constructive criticism about the ROOT villains in the last couple chapters. They sort of went from super capable, mysterious villains to mustache twirling characterchures. So I've tweaked the plot a little bit which actually helped to close some plot holes that were forming in later chapters. The plot's not changed too much, so don't be concerned. DRAGON's been mustache twirling all along, but SPIDER and POSSUM are still up to no good.**

**Did you guys suspect DRAGON/Shinju from early in the story? SPIDER/Aiko and POSSUM/Kenta were probably harder to pick out. I put Chika in as a red herring for SPIDER/Aiko and POSSUM/Kenta was playing dead for most of the story. **

**Tweaks - DRAGON went off script bringing Sasuke and Hinata to Yugakure, so SPIDER scrambled to cover her tracks (ch 38). Ibiki told Ino that they'll break the genjutsu after he locked her up, so ROOT knows that Konoha's aware that she's the mole (41). Ino had to admit this to the girls (ch 44).**

**A little ShikaIno for everyone! :-) And Sai's back! **

* * *

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Five**

There wasn't any particular player I modeled my game after. I tried to learn from everyone and create my own style. I studied past players. Truth be told I never had a favorite player. It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people. I just go try to learn. - Magnus Carlsen

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

As soon as the reverse summoning was complete, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. His friend Sai smiled his strange smile and said, "Good to see you again, Dickless."

"Gah!" Naruto yelled. "Don't call me that in front of the other kage!"

Kankuro and Temari tried to hide their laughs behind their hands.

Kakashi snorted. Turning to Sai, he said, "Thanks for helping us get here to quickly Sai. We want to strike out against ROOT as quickly as we can."

The pale artist nodded at them in agreement. "I was hoping that you hadn't forgotten about me here in the Land of Hot Water. I've been laying low for nearly a month."

"Er, right," said Kakashi. "I would never forget about a comrade."

Sai looked around. "Where's Captain Yamato? Did you forget him again, Kakashi-sama?"

"Er, he's on other business right now," said the Hokage.

"Rescue mission," Naruto explained. "His girlfriend's pregnant."

"I see," said Sai. "He must have learned what a clitoris was after all. I'll have to ask him when I get back." He took out a notebook and scribbled down a note for himself while the rest of the group looked utterly baffled. "So this is an assassination mission then?" continued the former ROOT agent. "I have several of my ink monsters seeking out the locations of the ROOT jinchuriki."

"Assassination, yes," agreed Darui. "They'll have to be killed."

"They're a dangerous element." Mei Terumi nodded.

"An assassination would be preferable to a frontal assault," added Gaara.

Naruto looked uncomfortable. "Wouldn't it be better if we just unsealed the bijuu from their hosts. If we capture and subdue the jinchuriki, Shikamaru and I can get working on that when we get back home."

"Too risky," said Kitsuchi. "We should kill them outright."

"We can seal their chakra and then remove the bijuu at another location," said Kakashi in support of Naruto's decision. "I can seal them away in Kamui for now and then retrieve them when we get back to Konoha. It'll be perfectly safe."

"We should destroy the whole city, jinchuriki included," said Kitsuchi. "You said yourself; they're a faction too dangerous to be left alive. Wasn't this the plan all along? I don't have the destructive power of my father's Dust Release kekkei tota, but if we combine our jutsu, we can wipe Yugakure off the map."

"But how many of them are innocents?" Naruto wondered. "Destroying them in battle is one thing but killing children in the middle of the night? That doesn't feel right."

"So what do you propose we do?" asked Gaara.

Naruto looked at Kakashi for guidance. The Hokage said, "Capture the jinchuriki. Declare war on Yugakure in the morning. Anyone who doesn't surrender will be slaughtered."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru was surprised to see that someone was already in the library when he walked in. A dark haired man was poring over the books. The other man looked up when Shikamaru walked in._

_"Nara Shikamaru."_

_"Uchiha Itachi."_

_Itachi closed the book he was reading and put it back on the shelf. Shikamaru watched Ino's lover glide down the aisle, his finger running over the titles on the spines._

_Shikamaru clenched his teeth together in fury and moved to one of the other aisles. He grabbed a book at random. He vaguely looked at the cover._

_**BASIC YAMANAKA CLAN NINJUTSU**_

_ Flipping to a random page, he began to read._

**_Shintenshin no Jutsu_**

**_This jutsu is the signature ability of the Yamanaka clan. All subsequent jutsu are derived this jutsu. The handsign is…_**

_He put the book back on the shelf. The other titles were all ninjutsu techniques. This must have been the ninjutsu section._

**_WIND ELEMENT NINJUTSU, EARTH ELEMENT NINJUTSU, BASIC GENJUTSU, INO-SHIKA-CHO COMBINATION JUTSU, BASIC MEDICAL NINJUTSU, INTERMEDIATE FUUINJUTSU, INTERROGATION JUTSU, ADVANCED YAMANAKA CLAN NINJUTSU, EYESHADOW GENJUTSU_****_._**

_He'd never heard of a book about eyeshadow genjutsu. What the hell kind of library was this?_

**_EYESHADOW GENJUTSU_**

**_Kami, how has no one thought of this before? _**

**_So Sakura and I were painting our nails the other day and she was saying how hard it is to keep on eyeshadow when you're an active kunoichi and the stuff just gets sweated off. So I said, OMG, we should totally develop a genjutsu that does that!_**

**_I mean there's ninjutsu to make your hair grow so you can use it as a shield. Why can't we make a genjutsu so you don't have to worry about your eyeshadow coming off?_**

**_We're so brilliant._**

**_OMG! I'm going to make one that changes color too. _**

**_So the handsign are…_**

_Shikamaru closed the book feeling very confused. He could hear Itachi two aisles down pulling out another book from the shelf. He didn't want to talk to Ino's lover, but he might have some answers._

_The plaque on the next aisle was illuminating: __**MY CHILDHOOD**_

_These books weren't like regular books. They were Ino's memories. Kami, why didn't she lock this place up? She'd locked up other dangerous places. What if he wrote in one book or erased one. He could really mess up _her_ memories._

_He walked over to the aisle Itachi was in. The plaque on that aisle was equally illuminating: __**SHIKAMARU 3 – VOLUMES 4000-4500 **_

_"What's all this?" wondered Shikamaru._

_Itachi glanced at him over the pages of his book. "Her memories and thoughts about you."_

_"Her what?" wondered Shikamaru. He grabbed the book out of Itachi's hands. He read the cover._

**_SHIKAMARU – VOLUME 4,495 – OUR FIRST TIME_**

_He felt his face burning. He flipped open to a random page._

**_Shikamaru finally answered the door. Kami, he was so lazy. We only had until his parents got home. Who knew how long that would be? His eyes completed a slow perusal of my outfit. I'd worn my favorite blue tank top and white skirt for the occasion, those and my sexiest underwear. _**

**_"Good, you're home," I said walking into his house. "Are your mom or dad home?"_**

**_"No, why?"_**

**_I went into kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. My mouth was suddenly dry. I handed him one too. His long fingers brushed against mine as he took it from out of my hands. _**

**_"We got put in different divisions," I started._**

**_"I know."_**

**_"You're in the Fourth Division with Choji and I'm in the Fifth Division with Kiba and Shino," I continued._**

**_He took a sip from the glass. "Not really a time to get nervous, Ino. We're supposed to be deployed tomorrow. We're joining with our divisions and then heading to the front."_**

**_I looked down at my hands. My bangs slid across my face, hiding my eyes from his scrutiny. Kami, it was now or never. The thought of going to war was terrifying. A mission was one thing, but war was another beast entirely. I couldn't go to war without first telling him and showing him how much I loved him. _**

**_"I know," I finally said._**

**_He stepped towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. His hand was warm and comforting. Smoothing back the bang behind my ear, he looked deeply into my eyes. I shivered under the full intensity of his gaze. "Everything'll be fine. My dad's great at thinking strategies and your dad's great at relaying them. We're as well prepared as we could hope for."_**

**_I put down my glass on the counter next to his. "Shika," I started but the words caught in my throat. "Can I kiss you?"_**

**_"What?" he gaped. "Is that you, Naruto? That's not a very funny joke."_**

**_Naruto?! That jerk's sexy jutsu did look a lot like me. Was this a prank Naruto liked to play? I'm going to kill Naruto when he gets back from his bijuu training. Sakura'll just have to deal with it. _**

**_I rolled my eyes and hit him over the head. "You and I both know Naruto's headed off to do his bijuu training. It's not a trick. I should have known you'd take it like this." _**

**_Humiliated before measure, I tried to bolt away from him and out of his house. I didn't get far before he grabbed my arm._**

**_"Wait," he said._**

**_I went to him in a stumbling rush. It felt like coming home, being in his arms. We fit together like puzzle pieces. _**

**_I rested my hands on his chest and titled my head up towards him, stretching and bending like a flower towards the sun. He moved one hand to my cheek and looked down at me intently. Kami, he was so beautiful. I parted my lips and closed my eyes, waiting for him to kiss me. His hand smoothed across my cheek before he kissed me softly on the lips._**

**_I returned his kiss eagerly; my tongue traced the seam of his lips, begging entrance. I slid my hands up his chest to wrap around his neck, pressing my body in closer to his. I deepened the kiss, slipping my tongue into his mouth to dance with his. _**

**_He was wildfire. _**

**_I pressed myself against him as closely as I could. I could never get close enough to him. He could be inside me and even that wouldn't be close…_**

_Shikamaru slammed the book shut; his face was crimson. "You shouldn't be reading that. That's private."_

_Itachi shrugged. "If she wanted it to be private, she would have locked it up."_

_Shikamaru frowned at him. "This is my section," Shikamaru continued. "See, it's got my name all over it. How about you stay out of my books and I'll stay out of yours."_

_Itachi considered him. "Okay. I'll stay out of your books and you stay out of mine. No other restrictions."_

_"Fine," said Shikamaru._

_Itachi held out his hand and Shikamaru shook it in agreement._

_Itachi crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the shelves. He smirked at Shikamaru. "I'll just have to content myself with the multimedia."_

_Shikamaru felt a drop of sweat drip down his back. "Multimedia?"_

_The Uchiha genius nodded. "Yeah. She's got loads of movies about you."_

_Shikamaru's face was turning a brighter red by the second. "If you—"_

_Itachi chuckled. "I'm sorry for winding you up. I just couldn't help myself. It's so dull in here otherwise... I haven't watched any of the movies in case you were wondering." _

_Shikamaru didn't feel any better._

_Itachi considered him. "Can you blame me for wanting to learn more about the man that Ino loves?"_

_Shikamaru snorted. "She loves you more than she loves me. She's having your kids, isn't she?"_

_Itachi shrugged. "There are five thousand books about you in here and only ten books about me. You can't blame a guy for being a little jealous."_

_"Do you love her then?" _

_Itachi nodded. "I didn't want to, but in the end I couldn't help myself."_

_Shikamaru grumbled, "I know what that feels like."_

_Itachi smiled kindly at him. "There's only the two of us in here. It wouldn't be practical for us to avoid each other. Friends? Acquaintances? Pen Pals?"_

_Shikamaru shrugged. "Let's start with acquaintances."_

_"That's fine with me," said Itachi._

_"So do you play chess?" asked Shikamaru. "It'll help pass the time."_

_"I'm quite good at chess actually," said Itachi._

_"So am I," said Shikamaru with a smile._

* * *

**Hyuga Hinata**

The Yakuza Palace was a maze of rooms. She was glad of her Byakugan. They would never have found their way otherwise. The group of five skulked through the basement near the holding cells, trying to find a way upstairs that avoided discovery by the ROOT operatives.

"I can't see a clear path," Hinata whispered to Sasuke. "There are people near every exit. We won't be able to sneak by unnoticed even if we suppress our chakra."

Sasuke huffed in annoyance. "Do you see Kenta anywhere, Hinata?"

Hinata titled her head to the side to look down a hallway. "I can see his chakra signature and another chakra signature heading towards your cell. I think the other one is the woman SPIDER. They'll find out we've escaped very soon."

Sasuke squeezed his hands in a fist. "Yakuza Kenta is the leader of ROOT. We should kill him now while we have the chance."

"It's too risky," ANBU captain Chika whispered behind him. "Our main objective is escape. We're outnumbered, vulnerable, and deep in enemy territory. We should pull out and return with reinforcements."

"Do you think they'll just stay here twiddling their thumbs while we gather reinforcements," Ino retorted. "This is our best chance."

"There's not a clear way out yet," said Hinata. "We'll have to fight our way out regardless. Why not go after the leaders of ROOT?"

"There's a difference between fighting your way out and starting a fight," whispered Sakura. "Fighting our way out we stand a chance of escape. If we attack POSSUM here, we'll be ambushed by his reinforcements and recaptured. Chika's right."

Chika whipped her head to the side. "It can't be. That chakra…"

Hinata's eyes widened, "What on earth is that?"

Everyone's eyes followed Chika as she walked slowly to one of the dank basement walls. Hinata could see behind the wall, something burrowing. She didn't understand. It was like a tunnel being made into the ground coming straight for them. There were other chakra signatures inside.

A wooden door appeared in the wall and Chika put a hand over it with a smile. She twisted the handle and swung the door open and then leapt into the arms of the man standing in the darkness of the tunnel.

"Yamato!" she cried out in joy.

"Chika, you're alright. Thank Kami," Yamato replied, pulling her against him and burying his face into her hair.

Chika hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yamato, I…I'm pregnant."

He smoothed a hand over her stomach and grinned widely. "I'm going to be a father."

Suigetsu and Karin squeezed through the doorway after Yamato and then Morino Ibiki walked into the hallway. Shikamaru slunk out afterwards, staring down Ino.

Sakura looked around at the group. "Where's Naruto?"

"He's going after the jinchuriki," said Yamato.

Sasuke looked at Sakura funny. "Why, did something happen to him?"

"I'm having his baby," Sakura said simply.

Suigetsu and Karin walked over to Sasuke and put hands on his shoulders. "Alright there, Sasuke?" asked Suigetsu.

"More or less," said Sasuke.

Shikamaru continued to stare at Ino, but neither said anything. There was an air of uncomfortable silence around them. Ino's head was facing the direction that Hinata had indicated earlier. Her hands were balled into fists.

"We can't let that bitch, SPIDER, get away."

Ibiki groaned as Ino ran off by herself.

Hinata looked at the others, "She's pregnant! We need to make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"That bitch, Fujii Aiko, is mine," Chika growled, running after Ino.

Sakura chased after the two of them. "Only if you get there first."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth together and took off after the three women. "Troublesome."

Karin turned to Sasuke and Suigetsu. "I'm not pregnant; in case you were wondering."

Suigetsu looked uncomfortably relieved.

"What the hell are you talking about?" wondered Sasuke. "Why would you be pregnant?"

"Everyone else is saying they're pregnant," Karin explained. "I didn't want there to be any confusion."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He gave Hinata a half smile. "Well I guess we should go help them," he said. "I want to kill POSSUM, so might as well join the rest of them."

Karin grabbed his arm as he headed off. "Has no one told you yet? Sasuke, Ino's pregnant with Itachi's children. You're not the last Uchiha. She's carrying your nephews."

Sasuke gaped at Karin. "That's impossible."

Hinata shook her head. "That's what Shinju said too."

Sasuke stared at Karin. "But how?"

"When a man and a woman—" began Suigetsu.

"While we were hunting him down, Ino cornered him in a hot spring and seduced him. She's carrying three of his children. They put her on fertility potions so she'd conceive multiples," explained Karin.

"So the flowers," Sasuke realized, "White, yellow, and blue. They'd been for Ino all along. Love, motherhood, gratitude, an apology."

"That's so romantic," Karin sighed.

"To think the whole time we were hunting him down, he was holed up for days in a love hotel with a beautiful kunoichi. Lucky bastard," Suigetsu sighed.

* * *

**A/N: Do you guys like the idea of Itachi and Shikamaru hanging out Ino's mindscape? **

**Please review!**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter Forty-Six**

"Occasionally an opening is used against an opponent who is known to favor it himself. The idea is to force him to fight against his own weapons, when he will have to face not only real dangers but very often imaginary ones as well." - Tigran Petrosian

* * *

**Interlude**

_She slipped her hand into his, pulling him closer to her as they walked down the floating pontoons and walkways of Raguun. She tilted her head up and gave him a sweet smile. He pulled her closer to him, enjoying the feeling of their joined more than he should have. _

_He couldn't fall in love with her. He was supposed to die for Sasuke in a few short days; she could make him lose his resolve. Already he'd sent a shadow clone to delay his brother, so he could stay wrapped tightly in her arms._

_Her knee length blue dress flowed around her knees as she walked.. "See, isn't this fun!" Ino chirped. "It was so boring been cooped up in our rooms for days. I've never been Raguun before, so I've been dying to look around the floating city."_

_Itachi shrugged. He'd quite enjoyed being cooped up their rooms for days. "So what did you want to do then?" he asked. "I don't know much about the city."_

_"I wouldn't mind just walking around and taking in the sights, getting lost in hidden highways and byways. Maybe grab a snack, see what the locals are doing," Ino shrugged. She squeezed his hand and grinned at him. "What about you?"_

_He turned to her, unable to spend another minute without her in his arms. He pulled her to his chest and kissed her on the forehead. "That sounds wonderful. As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy."_

_He pulled away and her eyes glittered mischievously before standing on tip toes and kissing him quickly on the mouth. "That's really sweet. But really, let me know if you have any ideas."_

_He wrapped an arm around her waist and then they were walking again. _

_"What's your family like? Who was on your genin team?" he asked._

_She rested her golden head against his shoulder and mused. "I'm an only child and a total Daddy's girl. Did you ever get a chance to meet my dad, Yamanaka Inoichi, while you lived in Konoha?"_

_He knew that she was a Yamanaka kunoichi and he had guessed that her father was the Head of the clan. The heir or heiress of the clan was always given the name "Ino." The three clans all operated that way. "Ino," "Shika," "Cho." _

_"Only once or twice. Inoichi and his teammates Shikaku and Choza were famous throughout Konoha for their teamwork. Their sons were in Sasuke's class at the academy. Are they on your team too?"_

_She shook her head, "Jeez, that always amazes me when you go from point A to point R in a blink of an eye, skipping all the steps in the middle. Shikamaru does the same thing."_

_"This Shikamaru must be Shikaku's son. When he was a child, Sasuke mentioned him once or twice."_

_Ino nodded. "You've got an excellent memory. I hope my baby inherits that you from you."_

_A warm feeling bloomed in his chest when she said my baby. He rested his hand low on her belly. "I hope the baby is a brave and strong as you are."_

_Ino laughed out loud, "Me brave? You must have the wrong person. I'm not good in battle; my talents are more for support and intelligence gathering. That's what Shikamaru always says: our team is very good at running away."_

_He didn't move his hand from her belly. "What you're doing here, is the bravest thing I've ever seen. I can't even begin to comprehend the things you've had to sacrifice to help revive my clan."_

_There was a faraway look in her eyes and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Was she thinking of the man she loved? The one who she wanted to give her virginity to that he'd stolen from her. Who was this Shikamaru she kept mentioning? She must have loved him a great deal for her thoughts to keep returning to him so faithfully._

_Her head titled to the side when she heard the sound of music, laughing, and the dull sound of bamboo reeds being hit together. "Oh, let's see what's going on over there!"_

_She dragged him over, grinning widely. Her blue eyes sparkled at him and he was lost. _

_It was a group of dancers in the large square in the center of the floating city. They were four pairs of men and women each holding the ends of two bamboo reeds on the ground banging them together to make a beat. The four pairs of bamboo reeds and players were spread out in the square. A dark haired woman danced barefoot along with the beat, leaping nimbly in and out of the bamboo reeds as they were banged against each other._

_Musicians played a happy melody and the rest of the onlookers clapped along to the beat. The woman's tempo picked up as she danced to and fro, soon joined by several other men and women._

_He'd slipped his arms around Ino while they watched, pulling her back against his chest and resting his arms around her waist. She was soft and lithe and so wonderful against him. Clapping her hands happily to the music, she watched too, humming along. _

_After several minutes, she turned to him. "Let's try, Itachi. That looks like fun."_

_He loosened his grip around her, sliding his hands to her hips. "You go ahead. I'll watch."_

_She tweaked his nose and took off her sandals, pressing them into his hands. She ran off to join the other dancers. Her blue dress flowed around her legs. She jumped in and out of the bamboo reeds as they were hit against each other, twirling and giggling with the brunette dancing with her._

_A voice at his shoulder said, "Your wife dances very well."_

_He glanced sideways at an older man and woman watching the dancing, clapping along in time with the beat. His eyes followed theirs to the radiant blonde haired girl dancing along with the other men and women._

_"She does," Itachi agreed. _

* * *

**Hatake Kakashi**

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai were the party assigned to track down, seal, and capture the jinchuriki. They were supported by the other three man squads comprised of the other Kage Summit participants.

Suna, Iwa, and Kumo were trailing them from a distance, offering backup and scanning the area for ROOT enemies. Kiri was hiding in the hot springs overlooking the city. Mei Terumi was ready to take advantage of the heat and the water from the springs to unleash a deadly tidal wave of steam and acid as a last resort if the ROOT forces attacked.

ROOT had captured and no doubt made jinchuriki with the one, two, three, five, and seven tailed bijuu. C from Kumo signaled them and Kakashi fell back to talk with him.

Sai and Naruto went ahead. Sai signaled with the ANBU code, "Located Target, One Tail."

Gaara went ahead to join Naruto and Sai.

It was an apartment complex, run down and on the corner of town. It was a strange place indeed to hide such a precious weapon.

Kakashi finally reached Darui, Karui, and C. The blonde haired sensor hissed to Kakashi. "Something doesn't feel right. There aren't enough chakra signatures here. I can only sense five other chakra signatures besides our own."

"The army's not here, Kakashi," the Raikage growled.

"We're walking into a trap," muttered C.

Kakashi glanced back to where Sai, Naruto, and Gaara had been a moment earlier. They were out of sight, having gone up the staircase to confront the one tailed jinchuriki.

* * *

**Interlude**

_It was the late morning sun streaming through the window that woke her up. She groaned and shifted, trying to slip out of the arms hugging her tightly to a muscular chest. They were both very naked and the evidence of his arousal was against the back of her thigh. _

_"Itachi," she whispered. "Wake up. I want to walk around town again today."_

_He merely tightened his arms around her in response. "Let's just stay like this all day," he muttered in her ear._

_"Come on, silly," she hissed wriggling against him._

_Her lover's warm breath tickled her ear as he chuckled, "If you keep doing that, I'm going to want you all over again." _

_"Please, Itachi," she pleaded. _

_"Make me," he teased._

_She huffed in annoyance and turned around to face him. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her and he pulled her to him, their legs now intertwined. Her hair was caught under his body; it pulled at her scalp uncomfortably. His dark eyes drank her in. _

_He was so beautifully tragic and tragically beautiful. _

_"Come on," she tried again._

_He smirked and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. Her hands splayed out on his chest and her lips inches away from his, she gasped, "What are you -?"_

_He drawled, "I would have thought that much would have been obvious."_

_He leaned up and silenced her next question with a kiss. He loosened his hands from around her to let them wander her body. Her hair was free and in a messy tangle down her back. She giggled at the feeling of his fingers tracing up the individual vertebrae of her spine. Straddling his hips, she ran her fingers down his chest and enjoyed the sounds he made deep in his throat when she kissed the pulse point on his neck. _

_"Oh Ino," he gasped out. "I think I love you."_

_She sat back and looked down at him in shock. He furrowed his brows and slid his hands down to rest on her hips._

_"What did you say?" Ino asked._

_His face was carefully blank. "I'm not sure why you would find this surprising, all things considered." Clutching her hips tight enough to leave bruises, he pulled her hips down to ground against her intimately to emphasize his point._

_She moaned at the feeling of him so close to her entrance. Kami, she was wet again already. She put her hands over his, trying to loosen his grip on her hips. He had other ideas. He lifted his hips so that the top of him just barely slipped into her. It was so teasing, so exquisite. "Itachi...I….I…oh, Kami, don't stop…."_

_She didn't know if she loved him or not. She loved Shikamaru, but she enjoyed Itachi's company and respected him. She admired him and maybe could grow to love him. But she did love Shikamaru. Was it possible to love two people?_

_She threw her head back and lost herself in the ecstasy of his touch. His hands clutched her hips and helped her find her rhythm as they moved together. Their gasps and moans reached a crescendo until she finally reached the precipice and threw herself off._


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

"I do not play chess - I fight at chess. Therefore I willingly combine the tactical with the strategic, the fantastic with the scientific, the combinative with the positional, and I aim to respond to the demands of each given position …" - Alexander Alekhine

* * *

**Uzumaki Karin**

It was her hand on Ino's shoulder that kept the girl from racing down the halls and straight into the room where SPIDER and POSSUM were standing. "Calm down, Ino," she hissed in her ear.

Next to them, Ibiki murmured, "We shouldn't just go barreling in. We need to formulate a plan. We might be able to get valuable intel from them."

Ino pouted, but followed their advice. She crept along the hall with her two colleagues from T&I while the others trailed behind them. Sasuke was watching Ino with a strange expression in his eyes.

Karin wondered what was running through Sasuke's mind. He had such a shocked look on his face when she told him the secret Ino was carrying with her. There was surprise and shock, but there was also hope and joy. There was something resembling a smile on the Uchiha's face as he watched Ino creeping ahead of him. His hand was tightly grasping Hyuga Hinata's elbow, keeping her no more than an arm's length from him.

Ibiki waved to her and Ino and they slid close to the door, masking their chakra. Karin's heart beat faster in her chest. POSSUM and SPIDER were talking about ROOT! This was the best information gathering opportunity they'd ever had. Ibiki's dark eyes were gleaming with excitement.

"I told you that OPERATION JINCHURIKI was a bad idea," taunted SPIDER. "That was never Danzo's plan. We don't have the strong sealing jutsu required for creating jinchuriki. We should have stuck to the original plan."

"The others never had any problem with my improvisation," POSSUM countered.

There was the sound of movement in the room as someone moved back and forth setting something up or taking something down. SPIDER's voice betrayed her annoyance with her colleague. "If it was successful, but the whole operation from start to finish was a mistake. We're just throwing all that work away now and worse, your little experiment has made the other villages aware of our presence. It's been a disaster."

"They'll be taking the kage down with them. If anything, I'd say that's a victory," POSSUM countered. "It was a contingency. The others are still years away from stealing the bloodlines that they were assigned. It's not a problem that I've had to scrap OPERATION JINCHURIKI."

There was the sound of something slamming down, the clanging of metal on metal: a tray against a gurney? "They should have made me leader of the operations in Hot Water. You've ruined everything, Kenta."

POSSUM snorted. "You don't have the power and prestige to one of the new kages. I have the strength of the Yakuza behind me. Don't forget that."

SPIDER snarled. "Where are they now? They've all fled. Some fearless clan you have, Kenta."

POSSUM's voice was calm. Her taunts didn't upset him in the slightest. "It was a strategic retreat. Yugakure was compromised, so we've had to redeploy the Yugakure force."

"_You_ compromised Yugakure. All my research! It's going to take me ages to move all this out."

"It's no matter, our mission is complete. We have all the Konoha bloodlines. We've had Hatake, Nara, and Uzumaki for years. Now we've got the full collection: Sarutobi, Aburame, Yamanaka, Hyuga, Akimichi, Inuzuka. Uchiha and Senju were the most difficult to acquire, but we've got those now too."

SPIDER was unconvinced. "That's all well and good, but what about my research! You and the other have said yourselves how important it is. We can't just leave it—"

"You've got other labs. It's not like you'll lose anything," replied POSSUM.

SPIDER let out a deep sigh of annoyance. "When DRAGON is done with the Hyuga girl, I'm going to kill him. If our cover wasn't blown before he's done it now. We're going to have Konoha coming down on our heads any minute now. I was barely able to get the Haruno and Yamanaka girls out of Konoha in time."

"DRAGON's a mad dog. He's been careless. We can get rid of him when we're moving out," agreed POSSUM.

"Kami, I still don't know why Danzo-sama made him one of the Yugakure leaders. CHAMELEON would have been much more capable," muttered SPIDER. "Now he's brought Konoha straight to us. The other kages might mobilize as well. We're not ready to deal with the Allied Shinobi Forces, not yet."

"They suspected that something was going on in Hot Water for a while, it was only a matter of time," POSSUM counseled.

"I guess you're right," said SPIDER. "You're going to join COUGAR's forces then? I'm going with VULTURE."

"COUGAR, yes," POSSUM answered. "She needs help with Kumo. Our progress with that has been lacking. VULTURE doesn't much help with Kiri. She's almost done with her OPERATION. They got the Hozuki and the Hoshigaki bloodlines. Those were the big ticket items."

SPIDER let out a disgusted noise. "Can you imagine her having to steal that Hoshigaki bloodline? That man is a monster. Did you see little PIRAHNA's teeth? He'd going to be a ferocious shinobi."

"Well his father was that monster Hoshigake Kisame," POSSUM reminded. "He was going to be a monster one way or the other."

"MAGPIE, COYOTE, and RACCOON have already been redeployed. DRAGON's supposed to be moving out," SPIDER thought aloud. "We'll need to…"

POSSUM interrupted her. "I've already seen to that. CHAMELEON's moved out with DRAGON's division. He's seeing to it until DRAGON catches up with them."

"Or mysteriously vanishes," corrected SPIDER.

"Right," agreed POSSUM.

"So you've been planning to kill him all along?" wondered SPIDER.

"He's a mad dog. He's no use to us."

"He's a ROOT agent," countered SPIDER.

POSSUM snorted. "He wasn't a very good one. You shouldn't be one to talk SPIDER. I know you're the one behind VIXEN's mysterious disappearance."

"She wasn't a very good ROOT agent either," SPIDER said. With a laugh, she asked, "Ready for those Sharingan eyes then, Kenta? I can finish moving out after we do the transplant."

Karin waved her hands to those gathered around the door. The time for retribution had finally come.

* * *

**Interlude**

_"I'm like the knight in chess," said Shikamaru. "I can use my strategies to jump over other players on the board."_

_Itachi took Shikamaru's rook with his bishop. "Then I would be a pawn."_

_Shikamaru snorted. "Definitely not."_

_Itachi chuckled. "I'm like the knight also."_

_"Check," said Shikamaru moving his queen._

_Itachi continued, "I'm very quick, leaping over other players, and as you said, I tend to use strategies to leap over other players as well." _

_Shikamaru turned thoughtful. "I think that you might be more like the queen. You're the strongest piece on the board."_

_"The queen?" asked Itachi with an eyebrow raised. "I would think Ino would better represent the queen in our game." He considered his king. "And her children, I think would be the king."_

_"Your children, you mean," Shikamaru muttered. "She doesn't want to have my children."_

_Itachi looked up at him in surprise. "Have you not read __**SHIKAMARU – VOLUME 4,794 – MY SECRET FAKE HUSBAND, I MEAN FAKE SECRET HUSBAND**__ yet?"_

_Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "I thought that we agreed that you'd stay out of my books."_

_Itachi shrugged. "I finished reading them all before you made that arrangement. I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise. I have an eidetic memory," he explained._

_"Kami, you're such a bastard sometimes, Itachi."_

_"Sorry," he supplied with a grin._

_"I shouldn't have made that arrangement then, should I?" muttered Shikamaru._

_"You can always rescind it, if you'd like," said Itachi kindly. _

_Shikamaru considered him before moving his knight. "I wouldn't mind having a look at your ten books and checkmate."_

_"Damn," said Itachi. _

_Shikamaru stood up from the board. "That book you mentioned earlier. You weren't just pulling my chain?"_

_"No," said Itachi. "You should read it."_

_Shikamaru wandered back to the stacks. They had been playing chess at one of the tables in the library. Maybe he'd take Itachi to his house to play chess later. That was always his favorite venue. _

_It wasn't hard to find the volume when he knew the number._

**_SHIKAMARU – VOLUME 4,794 – MY SECRET FAKE HUSBAND, I MEAN FAKE SECRET HUSBAND_**

_He flipped to the first page. It was about that day in the flower shop when he'd woven a crown of forget-me-nots for Ino._

**_After the class was gone, I climbed to my feet stiffly and walked over to Shikamaru. During the confusion of Choji's class leaving the shop, I'd lost his chain of forget-me-nots. _**

**_Shikamaru had been great with Hoshi. She was so shy and had difficulty opening up to others. He'd make a wonderful father. If he ever speaks to me again after all this is over, I'd like to start a family with him._**

**_They'd be dark haired and lazy and sarcastic and … utterly perfect. _**

**_Kami, I was stiff. My back and my ankles and my whole body hurt. With a groan, I sat down sideways in his lap and put my arms around his shoulders. I leaned my head against his. _**

**_"Troublesome," I pouted. _**

**_He chuckled wryly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer. "I wouldn't have you any other way, Ino-sensei."_**

**_I kissed him on the chin. "What should we make for dinner?" she asked._**

**_It was so easy to believe that the children were his: sitting on his lap, talking about dinner, having the marriage certificate to prove our love and devotion to each another. Kami, I wish it was true and not just a shadow. _**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

As he crept up the stairs beside Sai and Gaara, he was taken aback how much this apartment complex reminded him of the place he grew up: isolation, filth, and squalor. Were ROOT's jinchuriki treated as poorly as he had been? Did they have to bear the same psychological torment that his friend Gaara had?

Gaara's green eyes were haunted as he crept beside him. Naruto caught his eye and offered a weak smile. The corner of his friend's mouth turned up. What was Gaara thinking as he went to meet the current jinchuriki of the Ichibi?

Sai stopped next to the third door on the landing and waved Naruto and Gaara over. He nodded at the door. Naruto put a hand to the doorknob and eased it open.

There was a little boy crouched in the corner of the room. He looked to be about four or five. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and his hands over his ears. He rocked back and forth muttering, "Be quiet. I'm not going to listen to you any longer. Why won't you let me sleep? Let me sleep."

Gaara let out a little gasp from beside him as he looked at the red brand on the little boy's arm. It was the sealing formula locking the bijuu inside him.

"The voice is quiet. You've made him quiet. How'd you do that?" the boy mumbled, turning his bloodshot eyes on Naruto. There was a wild madness to them.

"Kami," hissed Gaara. "This seal is weaker than mine had been."

Naruto looked back at his friend. The little boy's dark eyes were eerie in the darkness. "They said the kages would come for us. WE ARE THE UNSEEN ONES WHO SUPPORT THE GREAT TREE OF KONOHA FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH."

Naruto's fingertips burned with the kanji for the chakra sealing jutsu. "We'll help you, kid. We'll figure out a way to get you back to the way you were before. You won't have to listen to those people anymore."

The little boy smiled at Naruto and put a hand to his bijuu seal on his arm. "Goodbye, Sage of the Sixth Paths."

Chakra bubbled and foamed out from the boy, exploding through the room. All Naruto was conscious of was pain and burning flesh as he was thrown clear from the room through the glass window. That must have been the signal to the other ROOT jinchuriki. Naruto's eyes closed in pain. When they opened the world had exploded into a tremendous light as the four other ROOT jinchuriki unleashed the bijuu inside them.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter Forty-Eight**

"Even the laziest king flees wildly in the face of double check." - Aaron Nimzowitsch

* * *

**Interlude**

_He struggled against the shackles restraining him. His chakra was sealed. He pulled and pulled, but he wasn't strong enough to break them without the aid of his chakra. They'd taken away his weapons, but he still had a senbon tucked into the fabric of the yukata in case of this contingency. _

_He twisted his head downwards towards the v-neck of the navy blue yukata and gripped the thing in his teeth. It was slow work and he kept poking the senbon against his tongue, his gums, and the roof of his mouth. He could taste the tang of his blood in his mouth as he moved the senbon into the lock on his manacle. He pricked his wrist and arm several times, but eventually he unlocked his right wrist._

_He took the senbon out of his mouth and worked on the left one. It was much easier now; he was much more dexterous with the senbon in his hand than he had been in his mouth. The fetters on his legs were next._

_Now free, he massaged feeling back into his limbs and stood up from the cold stone. His chakra was sealed and he only had a single senbon. But he had to save Hinata. That and murder Shinju and Takeshi and Kenta. _

_How could he have been so deceived? He had been suspicious of Shinju and Takeshi to be sure, but he had always looked up to Kenta. The green haired man had been a great friend and mentor as Sasuke began his life again in Konoha. He had been devastated when news of Kenta's death made its way to him. To think all the while, the man had been playing POSSUM._

_The mentoring and the friendship they'd formed, was that a lie too?_

_Sasuke moved to the door of his cell, wondering how to go about opening it. The door was always strongest around the lock, so he worked on the hinges._

_He had just started on the top hinge when he heard a whisper from outside. "Sasuke, it's Hinata. Step back, I'm going to open the door."_

_"Hinata?" he wondered. "That's very funny, Kenta. Come to gloat some more?"_

_"It's me, Sasuke," she hissed. "Move away from the door. I'm going to get you out of there."_

_"What did you tell me about Neji while we were on the pier in Kiri," Sasuke said._

_She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I told you that I joined ANBU in honor of Neji. It was his dream."_

_Sasuke stepped back from the door. "It is you. But how…?"_

_She broke through the lock on the door and opened it. He drank her in, ripped and torn yukata, dark hair all mussed up, Byakugan eyes activated and looking right through him. He grabbed her arms, and looked her over._

_"Hinata," he gasped, "were you…?"_

_She shook her head, channeling chakra to her fingers and unsealing his chakra. "No, no I wasn't."_

_He let out a groan as the chakra seal was released and then pulled her into his arms. "Thank Kami." He titled her head towards him and said, "When this is all over, I think I want to marry you."_

_"What?" Hinata gasped._

_He pulled her closer to him and kissed her deeply. He'd wanted to do this for weeks. She seemed to just melt into his embrace, arms gliding around his shoulders, lips moving over his, tongue dancing in his mouth. He slid his hands down her sides and around her back._

_She was on her tip toes, craning her neck upwards to him. He slipped his hands down to her bottom and lifted her up. She made an adorably startled sound in the back of her throat and wrapped her legs around his waist. _

_"Sasuke," she gasped, pulling away from him. "We can't do this now."_

_He rested his head against her forehead. "You're right. I don't know what came over me."_

_She put a hand to his cheek. Her pearlescent eyes beamed at him. "Let's go, Sasuke. We can still save Ino and Sakura. They're being held captive too."_

* * *

**Uchiha Sasuke**

The door rocketed off its hinges as Sasuke hit it with a scalding fireball. It blew into the room with an ominous crash. Inside POSSUM and SPIDER jumped out of the way with wide eyes.

"Shit," mumbled Aiko, clutching a scroll in her hands.

Kenta walked forwards brandishing his sword. Sasuke walked forwards as well, he angled his body carefully to ensure that the Yamanaka girl who was carrying Itachi's children was safely behind him. Hinata drew her swords and stood beside him.

Aiko narrowed her eyes at them. "I see the Hyuga bitch is here. Does that mean you dispatched that fool Shinju?"

Hinata gripped her twin swords tightly in her hands. She spat, "DRAGON's dead, yes."

Aiko eyed Ino curiously. "How did you get out that prison? You couldn't have broken the Kotoamatsukami."

Sasuke couldn't see her, but he heard Ino answer the ROOT commander. "I don't answer to ROOT anymore. I'll make you pay for what you've done."

Aiko shrugged. "I'm trembling in fear."

Kenta grinned devilishly. "Get out of here, SPIDER. I'll handle them."

Aiko took a step back before bolting out the back of the lab. Sasuke flashed forward, swinging his sword imbued with lightening style chakra at Kenta. Kenta channeled fire style chakra into his blade and parried the blow. Suigetsu was close behind him with a blow for the ROOT commander.

"Damn it, Ino, calm down," the Nara genius growled from behind Sasuke.

Sasuke cursed as Ino bolted after SPIDER. Kenta saw out the corner of his eye and grinned at Sasuke. "You know, do you? She's carrying Uchiha Itachi's legacy."

Kenta aimed a jutsu at the blonde haired girl as she raced past. Sasuke was too far away, he'd never be able to stop it. He'd already watched his brother die; he couldn't bear watching his brother's children too.

But Yamato and Chika were there. Yamato blocked the jutsu with his wood style jutsu and Chika sent a slash of wind style jutsu that Kenta blocked with his sword. The ROOT commander blocked Suigetsu's swing, narrowly avoiding being decapitated. Sakura, Karin, and Shikamaru raced after the trio as they went after SPIDER.

"Go ahead, Yamato," called Ibiki from where he stood next to Karin and Suigetsu. "We'll handle Yakuza Kenta."

The ANBU commander nodded to the head of the T&I commander and raced after Chika and Ino.

Hinata activated her Byakugan beside him and his eyes twirled into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Kenta held out his sword at them and Sasuke could see that he was channeling chakra in his lungs for a jutsu.

"**_Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu_**!" Sasuke called, releasing a huge fireball that took the form of a dragon and roared towards the ROOT commander.

"**_Suiton: Suijinchū_**," Kenta muttered, releasing water style chakra around his body to protect himself from Sasuke's attack.

The fire dragon roared in the tightly enclosed space, demolishing walls and wrecking pillars in its towering rage. Suigetsu groaned in dismay as he moved out of the way of the falling stone.

"He's bringing the place down over our heads," Suigetsu yelled, jumping out of the way.

"**_Chidori Eisō_**!" hollered Sasuke with a grin, taking advantage of the conductivity of Kenta's defensive water style jutsu to fry the man.

Kenta pushed the water barricade out away from his body and held his sword out in front of him imbued with chakra. The chidori spear was deflected.

One of the load bearing walls collapsed, almost crushing Hinata. "**_Hakke Kūhekishō_**," she gasped, trying to knock it away with huge bursts of chakra from both her hands, but the weight of the wood and stone was too great.

Sasuke's Susanoo burst to life, ribs and tendons and muscles extending out around the both of them. The huge being's arms lifted up to support the weight of the wall and then threw it off to the side.

"Thanks!" Hinata grinned.

"You think you're invincible?" laughed Kenta. "**_Futton: Kōmu no Jutsu_**!"

The corrosive mist seared and burned and melted through the Susanoo's ribs.

"He has boil release?" gasped Suigetsu. "But how?"

"I'm the Yukage aren't I?" laughed Kenta. "It's appropriate for the leader of the Land of Hot Water to have boil release, don't you think?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kenta's puns were becoming too much. He said, "**_Amaterasu_**."

Kenta let out an unearthly scream as the black flames consumed him.

That put an end to it.

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu snapped. "You idiot! You're not supposed to use that inside. It's going to burn through everything!"

"Shit," muttered Sasuke. "Uh, let's get out of here."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Sasuke watched the body of his brother collapse in front of him. His eyes burned. Whether it was from unshed tears of the awakening of his Mangekyo Sharingan, he didn't know. Rain drops or tear drops dripped down his face, washing away Itachi's blood from his forehead and cheeks._

_He was done. He'd finally achieved his goal of avenging his clan and killing Itachi._

_Then why did he feel so empty inside?_

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Itachi had whispered, before giving him a small smile. "This is the last time."

_He gazed out over the forests near the Uchiha Hideout as they were consumed by Itachi's Amatarasu. The rain did little to stifle the fire. It burned as hot and dark and the turmoil in Sasuke's heart._


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter Forty-Nine **

It is no time to be playing Chess when the house is on fire. - Italian proverb

* * *

**Yamanaka Ino**

She wasn't sure where SPIDER was running to, but Ino gave chase. Ahead of her, Ino could see SPIDER tossing ROOT agents aside as she ran up the stairs, ever upward.

The building suddenly shook violently and she almost pitched down the stairs. She would have fallen if Karin hadn't been there, gripping her arm tightly. The red head grinned at her.

Ino and Karin braced themselves against the wall as the place shook.

"What's going on?" yelled Ino.

Sakura gritted her teeth. She was standing on the stairs below them, "I'm willing to bet that Sasuke is being reckless with his jutsu in the basement."

"Damn," Yamato muttered. "We need to get out of here."

From behind them, Shikamaru hollered, "We're going to have company soon. The agents we ran past are catching up."

Ino glanced back up the stairs. SPIDER was gone. Karin's hand was tight on her arm. "She's still in the building. I can sense her, follow me."

Ino squeezed her hands into tight fists, running after the red haired kunoichi. They ran up one more flight of stairs before taking off down the hallway. Their ninja sandals slammed on the wooden floors and echoed through the adjacent rooms.

Sakura and Shikamaru fell to the back, to hold off any enemies as they ran after SPIDER. Yamato and Chika raced to the front, slicing a path through any comers and bolstering the walls and ceilings coming down around them.

Yamato shook his head as he cast jutsu. "This isn't going to work. We need to get outside! Right now!"

"I know!" Karin snapped.

Yamato grabbed Chika around the waist tightly as a hole opened in the floor under her feet. Chika grabbed onto his arm. "I see what you mean."

Ino stumbled as the floor below her shook. A fissure was opening in the ground at her feet. She jumped to the side, but the ground below her feet gave way. She let out a shriek. A shadow wrapped tightly under her arms, lifting her into the air.

"Shika!" she breathed as he set her on her next to him.

He frowned at her, but grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with him. "Troublesome woman. Be careful!"

SPIDER was momentarily forgotten as she ran beside him. His grip on her wrist was tight. Sakura winked at her and then punched a ROOT agent coming at them through the wall. The pink haired medic was handicapped by the fact she couldn't unleash her monster strength. That would really have the building coming down around their heads!

Karin faltered in her steps and Ino and Shikamaru almost bowled her over.

Ino gripped the red haired sensor's arm tightly. The girl had gone white. "What's wrong?" Ino asked.

"Shit," Karin muttered. "He didn't! That idiot Sasuke!"

Shikamaru huffed. "What's he done this time?"

Karin turned her garnet eyes on them. "Sasuke just used the Amaterasu."

"You must be joking," said Sakura. "In here?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "That's the worst idea ever."

Karin pulled at her hair, "I know!"

Ino grabbed Karin's arms as a crack in the floor below the red haired ninja became unstable. She pulled her T&I teammate towards her. Karin gripped her tightly around the waist, gasping, "That was a close one, thanks, Ino."

Sakura moved some of the fallen stones to block the hallway. She called at the top of her voice, "Yamato, Sasuke's just cast the Amaterasu!"

"He did what?!" Yamato yelled.

"Oh, he's so fired," Chika growled.

The floor shook again and then a crack ripped through the celing over their heads that ran along the whole wall. Yamato gritted his teeth together and sighed. "I'm going to make a path, everyone. We need to get out of here fast."

He focused intently on his jutsu and Chika watched him like a hawk, making sure that nothing would hurt him while he was casting his jutsu. Huge wooden pillars sunk into the ground below them and then a walkway sprawled outward, growing walls and a ceiling. Pillars sank down into the ground at regular intervals to support the path Yamato had made.

Ino gasped at the remarkable ninjutsu. The back of the tunnel closed behind them. Shikamaru gripped her wrist tightly and then they were running again.

"This will hold back the Amaterasu for a little while and stabilize our escape route," Yamato explained as they hurried out of the wooden tunnel.

Ino glanced at Karin. "Is SPIDER…?"

"She'll be outside in a moment," Karin said. "She's still alive."

"Not for much longer," Ino retorted.

They dashed out of the Yakuza palace, covered in dust. SPIDER was waiting for them, utterly still with her eyes whirling around in her head wildly.

"Kagemane no Jutsu complete," Shikamaru noted wryly.

Aiko bit her lip; blood dripped down from her mouth as she desperately tried to move but was powerless against Shikamaru's jutsu.

"Did you think you would get away?" laughed Karin.

Ino stalked forward and the others watched her with interest. She gripped the curly blonde haired woman's head in her hands. The other woman's brown eyes widened in horror and she let out a blood curdling scream as Ino stole and erased every single memory from the woman's mind.

She was about halfway through when the red haired woman from T&I ran over and pulled Ino's hands away. The Uzumaki girl's face was white.

Aiko stumbled away and collapsed onto the ground.

Karin groaned. "Ino! You erased her memory? POSSUM and DRAGON are both dead. We needed one for questioning!"

* * *

**Interlude**

_She put on a slip of pink silk and pulled her blonde hair back into a loose ponytail before joining him back on the bed. He lay back against the pillows, his dark eyes watching her reverently._

_"You've been with child for days now," he said. "Your mission's complete, why did you stay?"_

_She sighed and sat down beside him on the bed. She lifted his hand from the bed and placed it on her belly. He activated his Sharingan and he could see the little pin pricks of chakra already growing in her womb. It was strange how much they resembled his own chakra._

_"Can you blame me for seeking to learn more about the father of my child? What am I to say when he or she asks me about you? I wish you would open up to me more. I know hardly anything about you. I feel like I've only spoken about myself."_

_He squeezed her hand. "You can say that their father loved them and you very much and he wished that he could be there to watch them grow up."_

_She ran a hand through his loosened hair. "I'll take good care of our child. I'll make sure that ROOT won't get their hands on this baby."_

_"There's one thing I want to do before I leave to fight Sasuke," he said._

_"What's that?" she whispered, combing her hands through his hair. Her eyes drifted down to look into his._

_He leaned up and claimed her mouth in a leisurely kiss. She sighed and shifted on the bed, letting him pull her against him. _

_"You're insatiable," she breathed into his ear._

_He chuckled, his hands roaming under the silk of her slip. He pulled her against him, spooning with her. His palm splayed across her belly where his children were growing. His hand pulled her back against his chest. _

_"I want to seal some of my chakra into you," he said. "To help you break the Kotoamatsukami."_

_"Itachi," she whispered. "Are you sure? Won't you need all your chakra to fight Sasuke?"_

_His kissed her neck. "I know you'll find a way to break the jutsu, and I want to be there to help you do it. If I can't be there in person, the least I can do if offer my chakra to you."_

_"If you decide to seal chakra inside me, I'll use it for another purpose," she whispered in reply. "I'll bring your child inside my mindscape to meet you."_

_"You can do that?" he wondered._

_"Yes," she said putting her hand over his. _

_"If there's any chakra leftover, I would be very grateful for the opportunity to meet my children," Itachi mused. He concentrated on his chakra on the tips of four fingers. "Where would you like me to apply it?"_

_She moved her hair aside and said, "Put it at the back of my head. I don't want ROOT to become suspicious of it. They won't notice it if it's hidden by my hair."_

_He moved her thick blonde hair out of the way and applied the seal. He kissed the spot afterwards. _

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruto**

He stirred awake. Light of their jutsu crashed over his head like thunder and the violent rumbling of the jutsu crashes split the night like lightening. The inherent wrongness of the bijuu's chakra being used against their will sent a shiver down his spine.

Up was down and down was up.

With a groan he sat up. He had trouble seeing much over the blood caking his right eye shut. Temari stood over him with her fan fully extended, batting away the powerful blasts of wind coming from the jinchuriki powered with the chakra of the one tailed raccoon dog, Shukaku. Gaara's sand swirled around the both of them.

Where was Kankuro? Where was Kakashi? Where was Sai?

"Good, you're awake," Temari gritted out between her teeth. She hop skipped as she sent another tornado of punishing wind at the monster growing to life in front of them.

Gaara swept his sand towards the jinchuriki, trying to restrict the ROOT agent's movements. "Naruto? Are you alright?" he yelled over the melee.

Naruto rubbed his head. His hand came away wet with blood. Closing his eyes, he focused on the tremendous energy swirling around them, trying to draw some of it into himself to utilize the power.

"Naruto?" Gaara yelled again.

"He's gathering his sage chakra," Temari hollered over the jinchuriki's roars. "Gaara, I can't see anything. Do you know what's going on with the others?"

Even with his eyes closed, Naruto could sense their chakra. "I—I can't sense Sai's chakra. Where is he?"

Temari pointed to the crumpled body covered in rubble. His legs were weighed down by stone and a metal pipe had pierced his torso. The metal stood out of the dark haired boy's chest. "I'm so sorry, Naruto!"

Focusing on staying still, Naruto pushed the thoughts aside. He would have to grieve later. He could feel the others though. They were still alive. All of the others were still alive. They were tiny pin pricks of chakra against the vast oceans of the jinchuriki's chakra. He could feel Mei Terumi and her bodyguards moving to the center of the city from the bluff outside the city. They must have discarded the plan to bury the city when they realized ROOT's trap.

But, the five tailed jinchuriki. His light flickered out as the five tailed horse, Kokou's chakra escaped from its prison. And Chomei, the seven-tailed beetle, grew and flickered and changed as his host's chakra went out.

Naruto had spoken ith Gyuki and Killer B talk about the day Gyuki went on a rampage after escaping from his host.

The seals were too weak.

Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were over by Chomei. Akatsuchi's chakra flickered madly as the jinchuriki lost its bijuu captive. He flew across the street and his chakra went out.

"This was much easier when we had our own jinchuriki," Temari laughed, using a column of wind to block a ball of compressed air that the jinchuriki sent their way.

Gaara merely grumbled in reply.

Naruto's eyes flew open, now changed by the nature energy swirling within him. "We might not have any jinchuriki, but we can still summon the other four bijuu!"

Gaara whipped his head to Naruto. "Do you have enough chakra for that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sure. Summoning doesn't use too much chakra."

Gaara wiped the sweat from his face. His green eyes shone with hope. "Do it, Naruto!"

"**_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_**!" Naruto called, slamming his hand on the ground. He didn't even need to worry about biting his thumb. His hands were already covered in his own blood.

The remaining bijuu roared to life in the battlefield. Kurama knocked over a building with one his tails. "Naruto!" he yelled. "I'm going to kill you for what you put me through! You're a reckless fool!"

Laughing, Naruto called back, "Nice to see you too, Kurama."

The six tailed slug, Suiken, and the four tailed monkey, Son Goku, and the eight tailed octopus, Gyuki, appeared in front of them and then hurried off to help the others.

Kurama looked around the devastation around them. "I can sense the others bound within jinchuriki. But – but the kage are working together to fight against the jinchuriki. Could this mean that the kage weren't behind the disappearances?"

"It was ROOT," said Naruto.

Temari took a step back. "What's happening? He's stopped fighting!"

Naruto turned to the jinchuriki of the one tails. He had reverted out of his tailed beast cloak form and was crouching on the ground in front of them. With his knees bent into his chest and his hands tightly clamped over his ears, he groaned, "No. I won't let you out! Why won't you listen to me! They promised! They said that you would be powerless against me!"

Naruto gasped out as the little boy turned his wild eyes on the others. "You may be the Second Coming of the Sage of the Six Paths, but I'm the weapon of ROOT. I will complete my mission. I can't hold onto him anymore…"

"Oh, Kami, he's going to kill us all," moaned Temari, shifting her fan in front of her.

"…if I'm going to die, I'm taking you with me!" the jinchuriki screamed as the dam broke and Shukaku broke free.

Gaara swirled the sand in front of them, but the vast chakra overwhelmed the barrier. But Kurama was there. Moving a tail in front of them, Kurama was able to beat away the vast chakra emanating towards them in a shockwave of raw power. It beat against Kurama's tail and bounced back harmlessly.

The jinchuriki collapsed dead on the ground in front of them. The chakra gathered together and formed the familiar shape of the one tailed raccoon dog.

Kurama rolled his eyes at the raccoon dog. "You have absolutely no control over yourself do you, Shukaku?"

Shukaku rubbed his head and groaned. "Uh, sorry about that, Naruto."

Naruto winked at the both of them before stumbling to his feet and walking over the body of the fallen jinchuriki. Crouching in front of the boy, he brushed back the hair from his forehead. The boy was dead. What a senseless loss of life!

Glancing up to the sky, Naruto sighed unhappily. ROOT had used and then discarded these children. He hoped that Yamato and Shikamaru and the others were alright. They were going after Sakura and the others…

Sakura.

His heart leapt into his throat and then sank to his knees at the thought of Sakura having his baby. It was all he ever wanted: to earn her love, to get married, to start a family together. They'd gone about it in a strange order. Was she ready to be a mother? He wasn't sure that he was ready to be a father.

Kami, she was going to kill him when she got home.

Naruto glanced up when he sensed the chakra of the others gathering around him. The nine bijuu stood around them in a circle with the five kage standing together in front of him.

"They're all dead then?" wondered Gaara.

Kakashi nodded. "The seals were too weak. The bijuu broke the seals and escaped."

Karui glanced at Gyuki. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my life."

The octopus shrugged. "Killer Bee would have been upset if I let anything happen to his student. I should have asked you ages ago, but I would very much like for you to sign my summoning scroll, Karui."

The red headed kunoichi from Kumo grinned widely. "It would be my pleasure, Gyuki."

Darui turned to Naruto. "I wish that it didn't have to take all this death, suffering, and destruction for me to see things your way, Naruto. The bijuu should be free to live life as they want, not as our prisoners." Turning to Gyuki, he said, "Gyuki, thank you. Thank you for saving the Shinobi World during the Fourth Shinobi War, thank you for saving my wife's life, thank you for helping us when you knew that our goal was to imprison you again."

The octopus winked at the Karui before turning to the Raikage and saying, "You're welcome."

Turning to the others, Darui said, "Kumo is in agreement with the Hokage's proposal to end the creation of jinchuriki in the Shinobi World."

Gaara and Temari shared a glance. "Suna is in agreement."

Mei Terumi nodded along with the others. "Kiri agrees to end the creation of jinchuriki."

Kitsuchi chuckled. "Well I can't be the odd man out, can I? Iwa agrees as well."

Kakashi walked over to Naruto and put a hand on the blonde haired ninja's shoulder. "Konoha agrees as well."


	50. Chapter 50

**The Endgame**

In chess, the endgame is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. The endgame tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn. The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.** Wikipedia

* * *

**Chapter Fifty **

Few things are as psychologically brutal as chess. - Garry Kasparov

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru watched as the grass in his hand drifted off on the light breeze. It was carried down the hill and then lost in the streets below. The smoke from Asuma's cigarette blew over him, making him cough. _

_"That stuff'll kill you, you know," Shikamaru said._

_Asuma blew a ring of smoke, musing, "Too hard to kick the habit."_

_The Nara boy snorted. "Then why did you even start?"_

_Asuma took the cigarette from his mouth and considered it for a second. He turned to his student and raised an eyebrow. "It was the first in a long line of attempts to rebel against my father."_

_The dark haired boy raised an eyebrow. "I thought the Hokage smoked too."_

_Asuma shrugged, taking another puff from the cigarette. "Not my best attempt."_

_Shikamaru chuckled. "Is that why you joined the Twelve Guardian Shinobi? To rebel against your father? The Daimyo keeps sending me requests to join."_

_Asuma nodded. "I was fifteen, wild, growing my hair long; Kurenai was getting serious with some jerk in ANBU. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn't plan to be there long: maybe for a couple months, just to make my old man sweat. But I ended up staying for a couple years."_

_"Why'd you stay so long?"_

_Asuma blew a cloud of smoke out in front of them. "Chiriku became my mentor. He made me a better shinobi. After I'd been gone for a while, it didn't make sense to return until I'd made something of myself. Couldn't come back the same bratty teenager." _

_Shikamaru leaned back in the grass. "Hard to imagine you as a bratty teenager."_

_Asuma snorted. "I was one of the worst, believe me. You should consider it, Shika. You don't need to worry, I'm sure Ino will wait for you."_

_"I—I—" Shikamaru stuttered, blushing bright red. "That's not the reason I don't want to go."_

_Asuma let out a hearty laugh. "I can read you like a book, kid." _

* * *

**Nara Shikamaru**

Uchiha Sasuke was standing with his friends Uzumaki Karin and Hozuki Suigetsu. His hand was grasping Hyuga Hinata's tightly. Shikamaru had never seen that particular expression on the Uchiha's face before: joy, complete, and utter joy.

That bastard Sasuke had soared to the highest heights of heaven and he had sunk to the deepest pits of hell.

Sasuke and Hinata exchanged a smile and then Karin went on to speaking to them about something or other. He was too far away from them to hear the conversation, but he could easily guess.

All the while, he had been so focused on capturing the enemy's King that he hadn't noticed they'd taken his Queen. What a poor chessmaster he was.

He stiffened at her hand on his arm and her soft voice at his side. "Shikamaru?" He shrugged off her arm and turned to glare at her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Please, Shikamaru," she begged. "Please talk to me. I can –"

"Explain?" he interrupted.

"I—I—" she began.

He crossed his arms over his chest. Raising an eyebrow, he demanded, "Explain what? Explain how it is that you're four months pregnant with another man's child? Explain why you've been lying to me for so many months? "

"Shika," she pleaded. "You know that I didn't want to sleep with—"

He snorted. "I thought you said that you loved him, that he was good to you, that he was beautiful and romantic and gentle. Was that a lie too?"

Ino wrapped her arms around herself. Her lower lip trembled. "I was trying to make the most out of a bad situation. He was good to me. He reminded me of you, Shika."

He rolled his eyes. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Shika—"

"Ino, it's bad enough that you slept with another man and are carrying his child, but you stole my memories and deceived me for months."

"I was forced—"

"I'm sick of your excuses," he snarled.

"I didn't –" she began.

"I can't look at you anymore," he said finally. He turned and walked away from her.

She ran after him, grabbing his arm. "Shikamaru, I know you don't believe me, but I do love you."

He shook her off. "I'm leaving. I can't stay in Konoha while you're there."

She reeled back almost as if he'd struck her. "Where will you go?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll finally accept the Daimyo's offer to join the Twelve Guardian Ninjas."

"Please, Shika," she begged. "Please don't leave me. I love you."

"Goodbye, Yamanaka Ino."

* * *

**Interlude**

_Shikamaru picked the pieces off the board and put them back into the cloth bag while his sensei examined the board. "I still don't get how you did that," Asuma muttered to himself._

_Shikamaru shrugged. "You're afraid to attack with your king during the endgame, Asuma. He's a strong piece, you should use him."_

_Asuma frowned at his king in his hand. "I do play much more conservatively than you do."_

_Shikamaru remarked, "The king doesn't always need to be protected. He can be a valuable weapon during the endgame."_

_Asuma handed his student the pieces by his side of the board. "So have you figured out what the king is yet, Shikamaru?"_

_Shikamaru dropped the pawns, rooks, bishops, and knights into the bag. "Well you said that it's not Konoha. I'm not sure what else would make sense."_

_Asuma smiled at his student as he handed over his queen. "You'll understand some day. You're still too young."_

_Shikamaru huffed in annoyance. "I wish you would just tell me."_

_Asuma laughed. "It's something you need to figure out on your own, Shika."_

_Shikamaru looked down at the last two pieces on his side of the board. It was his queen and king. He ran his finger over the delicately carved wood. As he put the last pieces away, his mind wandered. He at least knew who his queen was: his boisterous, brave, bratty, beautiful, bossy teammate Yamanaka Ino._

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**A/N: Thank you so much for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The story continues in The King, which takes place about five years after the events in The Endgame. I've just posted the first chapter of the sequel.**

**The King**

**Second in the Endgame Series. The war's over, but who said rebuilding would be easy? Naruto's Hokage Inauguration is plagued by an old enemy of Konoha. Stung by the betrayal from the woman he loves, Shikamaru seeks resolution while Ino seeks absolution. Together, they risk everything, going undercover in a village believed to be a stronghold of ROOT. Sasuke bonds with his nephews and Hinata deals with the harsh reality of rebuilding the Uchiha clan.**


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